Grunge lit: Difference between revisions
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==Critical analysis== |
==Critical analysis== |
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[[Murray Waldren]] "...denied grunge [lit] was a new genre"; he preferred to categorize these "...new publications [of the 1990s] within a wider tradition of '[[dirty realism]]'".<ref name='leishman'>Leishman, Kirsty, 'Australian Grunge Literature and the Conflict between Literary Generations', ''Journal of Australian Studies'', 23.63 (1999), pp. 94–102</ref> |
[[Murray Waldren]] "...denied grunge [lit] was a new genre"; he preferred to categorize these "...new publications [of the 1990s] within a wider tradition of '[[dirty realism]]'".<ref name='leishman'>Leishman, Kirsty, 'Australian Grunge Literature and the Conflict between Literary Generations', ''Journal of Australian Studies'', 23.63 (1999), pp. 94–102</ref> [[Dirty realism]] is a term coined by [[Bill Buford]] of ''[[Granta]]'' magazine to define a [[North America]]n [[literary movement]]. Writers in this sub-category of [[Literary realism|realism]] are said to depict the seamier or more [[mundane]] aspects of ordinary life in spare, unadorned language.<ref>"Definition: Dirty Realism". Online dictionary service in English, Spanish, German and other languages by. 20 July 2008. 30 Dec. 2008 <http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-definitions/dirty%20realism>.</ref> The term formed the title of the Summer 1983 edition of ''[[Granta]]''. Sometimes considered a variety of [[literary minimalism]], dirty realism is characterized by an economy with words and a focus on surface description. Writers working within the genre tend to avoid [[adverb]]s, extended [[metaphor]] and [[internal monologue]], instead allowing objects and context to dictate meaning. Characters are shown in ordinary, unremarkable occupations, and often a lack of resources and money that creates an internal desperation.<ref>[http://www.themodernnovel.org/movements/dirty/ themodernnovel.org]</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 21:04, 3 February 2017
Grunge lit is an Australian literary genre usually applied to fictional or semi-autobiographical writing concerned with young people living in suburban or inner-city surroundings. It was typically written by "new, young authors"[1] who examined "gritty, dirty, real existences",[1] where life revolves around a nihilistic pursuit of vices such as sex, drugs and alcohol. It has been described as both a sub-set of Dirty realism and an offshoot of Generation X literature.[2] The genre was first coined in 1995 to capitalise on the success of Andrew McGahan's first novel Praise which had been released in 1991 and became popular with sub-30-year-old readers, a previously under-investigated demographic.[1] Since its invention the term "grunge lit" has been retrospectively applied to novels written as early as 1977.[2]
Themes and style
The majority of grunge lit works place their subjects within an urban or suburban environment where they explore the relationship between the body and the soul.[3] The novels typically depict an "inner cit[y]" "...world of disintegrating futures where the only relief from...boredom was through a nihilistic pursuit of sex, violence, drugs and alcohol".[1] Often the central characters are disfranchised, lacking drive and determination beyond the desire to satisfy their basic needs. The authors use a confessional style of narration and autobiographical elements to achieve an intimacy with the reader.[2] Although arousing antithetical views on publication, the majority of grunge lit books received little critical attention.[3]
Authors
Australian authors recognised as having written Grunge lit include Andrew McGahan[2] whose novel Praise, won the Australian/Vogel Literary Award in 1991, Helen Garner[2] whose novel Monkey Grip won the National Book Council Award in 1978 and Edward Berridge[3] who wrote The Lives of the Saints. Christos Tsiolkas and Linda Jaivin have also been considered to be grunge lit authors.[1]
Critical analysis
Murray Waldren "...denied grunge [lit] was a new genre"; he preferred to categorize these "...new publications [of the 1990s] within a wider tradition of 'dirty realism'".[1] Dirty realism is a term coined by Bill Buford of Granta magazine to define a North American literary movement. Writers in this sub-category of realism are said to depict the seamier or more mundane aspects of ordinary life in spare, unadorned language.[4] The term formed the title of the Summer 1983 edition of Granta. Sometimes considered a variety of literary minimalism, dirty realism is characterized by an economy with words and a focus on surface description. Writers working within the genre tend to avoid adverbs, extended metaphor and internal monologue, instead allowing objects and context to dictate meaning. Characters are shown in ordinary, unremarkable occupations, and often a lack of resources and money that creates an internal desperation.[5]
See also
- Grunge, a rock music genre and subculture in United States and Australia
- List of Australian novelists
- Brat Pack
References
- ^ a b c d e f Leishman, Kirsty, 'Australian Grunge Literature and the Conflict between Literary Generations', Journal of Australian Studies, 23.63 (1999), pp. 94–102
- ^ a b c d e Vernay, Jean-François, 'Grunge Fiction', The Literary Encyclopedia, 6 November 2008, accessed 9 September 2009
- ^ a b c Brooks, Karen, 'Shit Creek: Suburbia, Abjection and Subjectivity in Australian 'Grunge' Fiction', Australian Literary Studies, 18 (1998), pp. 87-100, accessed 10 September 2009
- ^ "Definition: Dirty Realism". Online dictionary service in English, Spanish, German and other languages by. 20 July 2008. 30 Dec. 2008 <http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-definitions/dirty%20realism>.
- ^ themodernnovel.org