The Short Story, the New Weird, and the Literary Market

2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-128
Author(s):  
Raphael Zähringer
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Short Story ◽  
Academic Work ◽  
Literary Form ◽  
The State ◽  
First Century ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Main Argument ◽  
Weird Fiction ◽  
Literary Market

Abstract The short story is commonly – and very productively – treated in the spirit of critical terms such as marginality and liminality. Quite surprisingly, though, New Weird Fiction, which postulates similar interests in, e.g., formal and aesthetic innovation as well as literary ambition, is primarily associated with the novel. The underlying lack of interest in the New Weird Short Story in both popular culture and academic work is scrutinised in this article. In a first step, it will survey the short story as a liminal form, both formally and aesthetically, and contextualize it by drawing upon the state of the literary market in the twenty-first century. The contribution’s main argument is that the short story has always either been considered to be too ‘popular’ or too ‘literary’ in order to contest the novel as the prevalent literary form. Step two will perform a similar move regarding Weird Fiction, thus highlighting the parallels between the short and the Weird, and the need for more academic attention dedicated to the New Weird short story.

The novel of the Greek civil war in the twenty-first century: (post)memory and the weight of the past

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-318
Author(s):  
Vassiliki Kaisidou
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Civil Conflict ◽  
First Century ◽  
The Novel ◽  
The Past ◽  
Ethical Commitment ◽  
Literary Market ◽  
Twenty First Century

Between the years 2000 and 2015 novels on the Greek civil war (1946–9) flooded the Greek literary market. This raises important questions as to why the burden of the civil conflict weighs heavily upon generations with no experiential connection to these events. This article begins by offering an interpretation for the literary upsurge of the civil war since the 2000s. Then it uses Marianne Hirsch's concept of postmemory to illustrate the authors’ ethical commitment to ‘unsilence’ and redress the past through the use of archival evidence and testimonies. The case studies of ThomasSkassis’Ελληνικόσταυρόλɛξο (2000), Nikos Davvetas’ Λɛυκή πɛτσέτα στορινγκ (2006),and SophiaNikolaidou's Χορɛύουνοιɛλέφαντɛς(2012) serve to illustrate my argument.

scholarly journals Citizens of nowhere: undocumented migrants in Regina Rheda’s narratives

2019 ◽  
pp. 19-33
Author(s):  
Ligia C Bezerra
Keyword(s):  
Short Story ◽  
First Century ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Undocumented Migrants ◽  
Economic Crises ◽  
The South ◽  
Undocumented Workers ◽  
Work Relations ◽  
The North ◽  
Point Of Departure

This article presents an analysis of the representation of Brazilian migrants in two narratives by writer Regina Rheda: the novel Pau-de-arara classe turística (1996) and the short story “O santuário” (2002). Taking as a point of departure Saskia Sassen’s work on global labor circuits at the turn of the twenty-first century, I argue that Rheda represents the Brazilian migrants in question as “citizens of nowhere.” Her characters acquire this status as economic crises resulting from a neoliberal agenda transform work relations between the South and the North of the globe, limiting their access to basic citizen rights in their own country. At the same time, their condition as undocumented workers in the countries to where they migrate relegates them to exploitation and, therefore, stresses the precariousness of their situation as citizens.

Fashioning Prince: Bikini briefs, trench coats and zoot suits, 1978–91

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 91-108
Author(s):  
Casci Ritchie
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Academic Work ◽  
Gender And Sexuality ◽  
Music Videos ◽  
First Century ◽  
The World ◽  
Critical Attention ◽  
Twenty First Century

Minneapolis-born Prince Rogers Nelson is often revered as one of the most influential figures in twenty-first-century popular culture. A true provocateur, Prince consistently challenged perceptions of gender and sexuality throughout his career, which spanned over four decades. Since his untimely passing on 21 April 2016, not only have fans around the world celebrated the musician’s life, but his oeuvre, representation and style have garnered increasing critical academic attention. This article will contribute to this burgeoning body of academic work on Prince and his lasting legacy, through a focus upon tracing the development of Prince’s iconic sartorial style, from his debut release For You (1978) to the worldwide success of his thirteenth studio album, Diamonds and Pearls (1991). Throughout this period, Prince aroused, entertained and shocked audiences simultaneously. Whilst critical attention has been paid to his music, background and identity, there remains comparatively little academic work focusing specifically and in detail upon his garments and style. This article will chart the emerging custom designed and created style of Prince through sequential album eras, focusing on important garments worn throughout music videos, concerts and album art.

scholarly journals Rethinking the Cultural Icon: Its Use and Function in Popular Culture

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Truman
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
First Century ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Cultural Icon ◽  
American Popular Culture ◽  
Academic Scholarship ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
And Function

Background  The role of cultural icons in twenty-first century North American popular culture has been under-theorized in communication scholarship. This is a significant gap in knowledge, given the importance of the icon as a public text through which collective cultural values are symbolized.Analysis  Using the novel approach of the scoping review, this article illuminates the current landscape of iconic studies by identifying wide-ranging examples of the cultural icon from academic scholarship, recognizing organizational categories, and synthesizing existing definitions to highlight the limits of current conceptualizations.Conclusions and Implications  Informed by the collected data, this article suggests a redefinition of the cultural icon that considers its current novel role in revealing tensions between different articulations of collective cultural values.Contexte  Le rôle des icônes culturels dans la culture populaire nord-américaine de ce siècle n’a pas encore reçu une attention théorique soutenue en communication. Cette lacune est sérieuse, vu l’importance de l’icône en tant que texte public par lequel nous représentons nos valeurs culturelles collectives.Analyse  Au moyen de l’approche novatrice qu’est l’examen de la portée, cet article illumine le terrain contemporain des études iconiques en identifiant divers exemples de l’icône culturel dans la recherche académique, en recensant des catégories organisationnelles pour celui-ci, et en faisant la synthèse de définitions courantes afin de souligner les limites des conceptualisations actuelles.Conclusion et implications  Cet article s’inspire des données recueillies pour proposer une redéfinition de l’icône culturel qui rend compte de son rôle novateur de souligner les tensions sous-tendant diverses articulations de valeurs culturelles collectives.

scholarly journals Conexus: Crime Fiction and the State of the Nation.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Duncan Dicks
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Critical Discussion ◽  
Crime Fiction ◽  
The State ◽  
First Century ◽  
The Novel ◽  
State Control ◽  
Social Commentary ◽  
The Past ◽  
Crime Novel

Conexus: Crime Fiction and the State of the Nation consists of two parts. The first section is the novel, Conexus, which is a practice-based exploration and illustration of crime fiction as state-of-the-nation social commentary. The second is a critical discussion of the requirements of a state-of-the-nation novel that reflects the contemporary, globalised word, and how crime fiction contends with these needs. Conexus follows a range of characters in parallel threads that converge onto a single physical location in Gloucestershire. Ainsley Griffin, a technology journalist, his partner, Chelsey, his grandson, Sundance, and a range of other characters gradually become aware of each other through their use of IT as they investigate a series of undiscovered murders that began with a sophisticated network of paedophiles in the 1990s. The murderer chooses each new victim through the random last act of communication of the last victim, and controls their lives through surveillance hacking before murdering them. The critical underpinning of the thesis discusses the concepts, theories and controversies surrounding the concept of a nation (for example, following the legacy of Gellner’s work, Hroch, and the explorations of Bhabha), emphasising the importance of state control through jurisprudence, of communication technology, and of physical locations and boundaries over the past two hundred years. The relative importance and impact of these concepts is seen to have changed dramatically with the rapid explosion of information technology in the twenty-first-century, requiring a very different approach to literary explorations of a nation. A number of crime novels from the past 25 years are analysed in conjunction with Conexus. The locations and boundaries are discussed with reference to the uncanny implications of the physical as discussed by Freud. Approaches to the incorporation of information technology into crime fiction are explored, and the success of this integration is compared to other literary works. In summary, the suitability of the crime novel as portrayal and summary of the culturally and socially significant trends of the time is assessed.

The Role and Representation of Betrayal in the Irish Short Story since Dubliners

2020 ◽  
pp. 236-252
Author(s):  
Gerry Smyth
Keyword(s):  
Short Story ◽  
First Century ◽  
Literary Discourse ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Elizabeth Bowen ◽  
Central Theme ◽  
Major Work ◽  
Irish History ◽  
Early Twenty ◽  
Twenty First Century

This chapter examines the emergence of betrayal as a central theme in James Joyce’s work and tracks its influence on subsequent Irish fiction. It explains how Joyce saw betrayal everywhere he looked: in Irish history, in the novel as a form, and in his own life. Already apparent in his earliest writings, Joyce’s major work represents a relentless dissection of the anatomy of betrayal in all its shapes and degrees. This obsession, moreover, was to have a lively afterlife in subsequent Irish literary discourse as generations of writers, from Frank O’Connor and Elizabeth Bowen to Bernard MacLaverty and Anne Enright, returned to this theme time and again until, following the economic and ethical crises of the early twenty-first century, society at large learned to speak the Joycean language of betrayal.

scholarly journals Смерть и власть в литературной антиутопии

2018 ◽  
Vol 167 ◽  
pp. 249-262
Author(s):  
Boris Lanin
Keyword(s):  
Short Story ◽  
Vladimir Nabokov ◽  
First Century ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Utopian Literature ◽  
Twenty First Century

Death and power in anti-utopian literatureIn the article, through the prism of the hero’s peculiar approach to death, Russian anti-utopian literature of the twentieth and twenty-first century is discussed. The author focuses primarily on the novel by Yevgeny Zamyatin We, a short story by Vladimir Makanin Escape Hatch and the work of Vladimir Nabokov Invitation to a Beheading. The author also mentions following publications: S.N.U.F.F. of Viktor Pelevin, Leningrad of Mikhail Kozyrev as well as Moscow 2042 — anti-utopian novel by Vladimir Voinovich and Telluria, a book by Vladimir Sorokin. The researcher emphasizes that the genre structure of the plot in Russian anti-utopian literature is based on two basic pillars: death and power. Those in power manipulate subordinates by threatening them with death, thus maintaining society under their brutal control. Death becomes the best way to escape for the anti-utopian heroes from the “mandatory happiness for all” announced by the authorities. According to the author, the anti-utopian saints and all anti-utopian hagiography demonstrate a sarcastic approach to death and life in this type of society.Śmierć i władza w literaturze antyutopijnejW artykule rosyjska literatura antyutopijna XX i XXI wieku analizowana jest przez pryzmat szczególnego podejścia bohaterów do śmierci. Autor skupia się przede wszystkim na powieści Eugeniusza Zamiatina My, opowiadaniu Władimira Makanina Właz oraz dziele Vladimira Nabokova Zaproszenie na egzekucję. Wspomina również utwory: S.N.U.F.F. Wiktora Pielewina, Leningrad Michaiła Kozyriewa, powieść antyutopijną Moskwa 2042 Władimira Wojnowicza oraz książkę autorstwa Władimira Sorokina zatytułowaną Telluria. Badacz podkreśla, że główna struktura fabuły w rosyjskiej literaturze antyutopijnej opiera się na dwóch podstawowych filarach: śmierci i władzy. Posiadający władzę manipulują podwładnymi, grożąc im śmiercią, utrzymując tym samym społeczeństwo pod swoją brutalną kontrolą. Śmierć staje się jednak najlepszym sposobem ucieczki antyutopijnych bohaterów od ogłoszonego przez władze „obowiązkowego szczęścia dla wszystkich”. Według autora antyutopijni święci oraz cała antyutopijna hagiografia demonstrują sarkastyczne podejście do śmierci i życia w tego typu społeczeństwach.

scholarly journals Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Bobok and Philip K. Dick’s Ubik: The Mystique of Otherness

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Irina Dergacheva
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Short Story ◽  
Half Life ◽  
The State ◽  
The Novel ◽  
The Dead ◽  
Book Of The Dead ◽  
Lost Opportunity

This article presents a comparative analysis of non-traditional images of otherness described by F. M. Dostoevsky in his short story Bobok (1873) and P. K. Dick in the novel Ubik (1969). With an interval of a century, the two works, Russian and American, describe the state of so-called “half-life” granted to people after their death before the final transition of the soul to the transcendent world. This state lasts from six months to two years, an artistic fiction where the writers demonstrate that their characters have lost their national eschatological traditions and their souls are filled with a moral vacuum as a result of the lost opportunity to correct their lives through “mortal memory”. Thus, their lives may be called “lives by inertia”. The article describes the theosophical influence of Heaven and Hell, a mystical work by E. Swedenborg, and The Tibetan Book of the Dead on the thanatological concepts of the works.

Arrows in Flight

2020 ◽  
pp. 252-268
Author(s):  
Heather Ingman
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Short Story ◽  
Literary Form ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Aesthetic Value ◽  
Critical Studies ◽  
Sean O'faolain

This chapter explores why the three twentieth-century writers who arguably did most to establish the short story as the quintessential Irish literary form—Frank O’Connor, Seán O’Faoláin, and Mary Lavin—fell short in the novel form. All three writers excelled in the shorter format, devoting meticulous care to their craft and revising and reshaping their stories many times, sometimes even after publication. Furthermore, O’Connor and O’Faoláin wrote influential critical studies of the modern short story, and Lavin was a perceptive arbiter of its aesthetic value and potential. As novelists, however, all three published works that, in the view of critics and also the writers themselves, were failures. The chapter critically examines the reasons that underpin such judgements.

Writing for the State

2019 ◽  
pp. 45-60
Author(s):  
Katie Brown
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Capital ◽  
Cultural Policy ◽  
The State ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Bolivarian Revolution ◽  
Literary Field ◽  
Successful Career ◽  
Literary Market ◽  
The Revolution

Chapter 1 examines how Chulapos Mambo (Méndez Guédez, 2011) and Bajo las hojas (Centeno, 2010) condemn the connections between a successful or unsuccessful writing career and Bolivarian politics. Chulapos Mambo explicitly criticizes the populist measures put in place by the Bolivarian government to make Venezuela a nation of writers, as well as suggesting that Bolivarian cultural policy rewards those who are loyal to the Revolution. The novel also demonstrates the polarization of literary field, which reflects the polarization of all aspects of society under the Bolivarian Revolution. Bajo las hojas, meanwhile, reflects criticism among certain writers and critics that Bolivarian cultural policy views writing more as a hobby than a profession, and does not offer writers the cultural capital required to make a successful career of writing, particularly in a globalised literary market. Protagonist Julio’s complaints echo claims among writers that Bolivarian cultural policy has instrumentalised reading and delegitimised literary experimentation.

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