Chemical generation: Difference between revisions
mNo edit summary |
Added sources, more details of the movement and authors, and fixed some wording |
||
| Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
}} |
}} |
||
'''The Chemical Generation''' refers to a collection of writers in the 1990s who created work responding to the [[hedonistic]] ecstasy culture of the 1990 era of ecstasy and rave culture <ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=1997-02-09 |title=Turning on a chemical generation |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/turning-on-a-chemical-generation-1277819.html |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref>. [[Irvine Welsh]]'s book ''Trainspotting'' is often described as inciting the movement.<ref name=":1">{{Citation |last=Gair |first=Christopher |title=Greece and the Beat Generation |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/9781137014498.0020 |work=The Transnational Beat Generation |access-date=2023-07-02 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |last2=Georganta |first2=Konstantina}}</ref> The Chemical Generation created a large body of DJ-led literature, where the key aspiration was authenticity. Stylistically, texts leaned into recreating the affective characteristic of rave music, with Welsh stating the he wrote in Scottish vernacular because he "...just liked the beat, the 4/4 beat. The Englis language is weights and measures - controlling, imperialistic - and I don't want to be controlled" <ref>{{Citation |last=WEBBER |first=S |title=Computerized DJ/Remix Tools |date=2008 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-240-52069-8.50014-6 |work=DJ Skills |pages=151–171 |access-date=2023-07-02 |publisher=Elsevier}}</ref>. |
|||
'''The Chemical Generation''' refers to a collection of writers in the 1990s who added a literary dimension to the [[hedonistic]] ecstasy culture of the era. |
|||
Notable writers in the genre include Welsh, [[Roddy Doyle]], [[Alan Warner]], [[John King (author)|John King]], [[Jeff Noon]], [[Nicholas Blincoe]], [[Gordon Legge]] and [[Laura Hird]] - all of whom participated in the survey of the scene carried by Steve Redhead for the publishers of [[Rebel Inc. (magazine)|Rebel Inc.]], [[Canongate Books|Canongate]], in his book ''Repetitive Beat Generation'',<ref name=":0" />. The book's title was an attempt to draw a parallel between the ecstasy culture, singled out by government as 'repetitive beats', and the [[Beat generation]] before it<ref name=":1" />. Welsh made the comparison himself, pointing to the frequency of reading appearing alongside DJs, and often bering performed in clubs, as an echo of the Beats.<ref name=":1" /> |
|||
Key works include Irvine Welsh's ''Ecstasy'' and [[Daren King]]'s ''[[Boxy an Star]]''. The concept of a group of writers addressing drug culture was further developed in 1997 by [[Sarah Champion (journalist)|Sarah Champion]], whose ''Disco Biscuits'' became the UK's bestselling fiction anthology of all time. In addition to the authors listed above the book was notable for the inclusion of writers such as [[Alex Garland]], [[Bill Drummond]], [[Will Self]], [[Grant Morrison]], [[Esther Freud]], [[Douglas Coupland]], [[Neal Stephenson]], [[Poppy Z. Brite]] and [[Robert Anton Wilson]]. |
Key works include Irvine Welsh's ''Ecstasy'' and [[Daren King]]'s ''[[Boxy an Star]]''. The concept of a group of writers addressing drug culture was further developed in 1997 by [[Sarah Champion (journalist)|Sarah Champion]], whose ''Disco Biscuits'' became the UK's bestselling fiction anthology of all time. In addition to the authors listed above the book was notable for the inclusion of writers such as [[Alex Garland]], [[Bill Drummond]], [[Will Self]], [[Grant Morrison]], [[Esther Freud]], [[Douglas Coupland]], [[Neal Stephenson]], [[Poppy Z. Brite]] and [[Robert Anton Wilson]]. |
||
Revision as of 04:23, 2 July 2023
 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
The Chemical Generation refers to a collection of writers in the 1990s who created work responding to the hedonistic ecstasy culture of the 1990 era of ecstasy and rave culture [1]. Irvine Welsh's book Trainspotting is often described as inciting the movement.[2] The Chemical Generation created a large body of DJ-led literature, where the key aspiration was authenticity. Stylistically, texts leaned into recreating the affective characteristic of rave music, with Welsh stating the he wrote in Scottish vernacular because he "...just liked the beat, the 4/4 beat. The Englis language is weights and measures - controlling, imperialistic - and I don't want to be controlled" [3].
Notable writers in the genre include Welsh, Roddy Doyle, Alan Warner, John King, Jeff Noon, Nicholas Blincoe, Gordon Legge and Laura Hird - all of whom participated in the survey of the scene carried by Steve Redhead for the publishers of Rebel Inc., Canongate, in his book Repetitive Beat Generation,[1]. The book's title was an attempt to draw a parallel between the ecstasy culture, singled out by government as 'repetitive beats', and the Beat generation before it[2]. Welsh made the comparison himself, pointing to the frequency of reading appearing alongside DJs, and often bering performed in clubs, as an echo of the Beats.[2]
Key works include Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy and Daren King's Boxy an Star. The concept of a group of writers addressing drug culture was further developed in 1997 by Sarah Champion, whose Disco Biscuits became the UK's bestselling fiction anthology of all time. In addition to the authors listed above the book was notable for the inclusion of writers such as Alex Garland, Bill Drummond, Will Self, Grant Morrison, Esther Freud, Douglas Coupland, Neal Stephenson, Poppy Z. Brite and Robert Anton Wilson.
As the relevance of club culture faded with the onset of a return to guitar-based bands in the ascendancy, the writers progressed onto more staple projects, though there was an overlap with many of the writers present in 2000's New Puritans anthology. Their style and approach have been mirrored among younger British writers however, such as Richard Milward and Michael Smith.
External links
 | This article about a literary movement is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- ^ a b "Turning on a chemical generation". The Independent. 1997-02-09. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ^ a b c Gair, Christopher; Georganta, Konstantina, "Greece and the Beat Generation", The Transnational Beat Generation, Palgrave Macmillan, retrieved 2023-07-02
- ^ WEBBER, S (2008), "Computerized DJ/Remix Tools", DJ Skills, Elsevier, pp. 151–171, retrieved 2023-07-02