New Weird
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The New Weird is a literary genre that began in the 1990s and developed in a series of novels and stories published from 2001 to 2005. The writers involved are mostly novelists who are considered to be parts of the horror and/or speculative fiction genres but who often cross genre boundaries. Notable authors include China Miéville and Jeff VanderMeer.[1]
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[edit] Definition
Various definitions have been given of the genre. According to Jeff VanderMeer and Ann VanderMeer, in their introduction to the anthology The New Weird, the genre is "a type of urban, secondary-world fiction that subverts the romanticized ideas about place found in traditional fantasy, largely by choosing realistic, complex real-world models as the jumping off point for creation of settings that may combine elements of both science fiction and fantasy."[2] According to Gardner Dozois, however, the VanderMeers' anthology "ultimately left me just as confused as to what exactly The New Weird consisted of when I went out as I'd been when I went in."[3] In comparing The New Weird to Bizarro fiction, Rose O'keefe of Eraserhead Press claims that "People buy New Weird because they want cutting edge speculative fiction with a literary slant. It’s kind of like slipstream with a side of weirdness."[4]
Part of this genre's roots derive from pulp horror authors, whose stories were sometimes described as "weird fiction". The "weird tale" label also evolved from the magazine Weird Tales; the stories therein often combined fantasy elements, existential and physical terror, and science fiction devices.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Reid, Robin Anne (2009). Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy: Overviews. ABC-CLIO. pp. 234. ISBN 9780313335914. http://books.google.com/books?id=jKr0jWY8FLkC&pg=RA1-PA234.
- ^ VanderMeer, Ann; Jeff VanderMeer (2008). The New Weird. Tachyon. pp. xvi. ISBN 9781892391551. http://books.google.com/books?id=eR7uAAAAMAAJ.
- ^ Dozois, Gardner (2009). The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Sixth Annual Collection. Macmillan. pp. xxxvi. ISBN 9780312551056. http://books.google.com/books?id=imdsahRQS6EC&pg=PR36.
- ^ Henderson, Randy. "Bizarro Fiction 101: Not Just Weird for Weird's Sake". Fantasy Magazine. http://www.fantasy-magazine.com/non-fiction/bizarro-fiction-101-not-just-weird-for-weirds-sake/. Retrieved 03/31/11..
- ^ Shaviro, Steven (2010). Post Cinematic Affect. O Books. p. 33. ISBN 1846944317.
