Once upon a Time,
before I was the Arch Villainess of Alt Lit, I studied Classic Literature. My Theory was that if I read noThing
but Classics, I would become a Classic. That makes Sense, Right? I kept on that Train
for about Six Years - I read allmost noThing but Authors who were either
Decidedly Classics ( via being Long Dead ) or were being considered as Classics ( via being aLive and at the Top of their Game / Recently
Dead ). I have since branched out ( Sorta ). Now, after Six Years of reading
Literary Classics ( and having written SomeThing [ S.i/S: ] I think will be considered a Classic [ in Canada, au moins ] ), I figure I am Sufficiently Skilled in the Art of Literary
Genius to go out and try to find Other
Literary Geniuses Millenni-Geni. I mean, they have to xist. And now they're on the InterNet! Just
because I’m a MegaloManiac doesn’t mean I don’t get Lonely. Not Only that - I have gotten mySelf Addicted to Great Literature. Only the
Best Prose will do. Any imPurities I notice Right away and I turn up my Nose. I
am the Snob of Snobs when it comes to Literature and I will not apologize. My
High Standards make Others raise theirs.
Which brings me to
Alt Lit. Ah, yes, Alt Lit. The Most Promising Pool of Literary Talent in North America this
Generation and still Such a Snore. This is why I must go around attacking
People. Liven Things up, you know. Get the Gears turning in People’s Minds.
For this Reason ( getting the Gears turning ), I’m going to do a Little Xpose on Classic Literature. What is it? How does an Author get to be it? Is “Classic” a Literary Style? Who this Generation ( besides me ) looks like they have the Most Potential as a “Classic”? Why? It’s All so Very Fascinating, a Little Mysterious, and a Lot up for Debate. Here goes.
For this Reason ( getting the Gears turning ), I’m going to do a Little Xpose on Classic Literature. What is it? How does an Author get to be it? Is “Classic” a Literary Style? Who this Generation ( besides me ) looks like they have the Most Potential as a “Classic”? Why? It’s All so Very Fascinating, a Little Mysterious, and a Lot up for Debate. Here goes.
The Literary Classic
- a deFinition
Literary Classics are
those Literary Books which are read Hundreds, if not Thousands, of Years after
their Original Publication. Here’s a Graph with Some Basic Authors.
A Classic Book is, eSentially, a Work of Literature that has achieved a Timeless Quality. The inFrequency of the Occurrence of Classic Works of Literature Comparatively to Works of Literature in General ( eSpecially post-Industrialism ) would suggest that “Timelessness” is a Difficult Quality to achieve in Art - it is the Territory of Geniuses.
This brings me to the Question of does a “Classic Literary Book” have a “Style”? I would say no. Which is not to say that there are not Stylistic Trends in Classics, or Certain Qualities that show up More Often than Others in Classic Books, More that these allways seem to be in Flux and I do not want to rule AnyThing out in Terms of the Qualities that a Classic Book can have.
You will have
noticed, unDoubtedly, the Patriarchal Bias of my Graph and of Western
Literature in General. This is not because “Mostly Only Men are Geniuses” but
because for a Long Time, Only Men were permitted Self Xpression in Art.
There are Qualities, however, besides being written by Men, which I have
noted as being Common among Classic Books.
1. Most are Novels, Books of Poetry and Books of
Philosophy. There are Some “Classic” Short Story Authors, Such as
Borges or Chekov, and a Good Number of Classic Playwrights - but that's allmost getting out of the Territory of “Books” - still, Most Books you will find labelled “Classics of Literature”
in a Book Store or a Library or by People amongst Each Other are Novels,
Books of Poetry and Books of Philosophy which have defined, in their
Contents, the Aesthetic, Moral, and Political Attitudes of an Era or
Nation or have helped to change these. Within Esoteric Branches, there are “Classics,” but let us Consider the Mean “Classic Book” to be SomeThing you find in a Book Store's “Classics” Section.
2. All Classic Books have inCredible Prose. The “Genius” Element
of the Classic Writer lies in his / her Prose. The Prose of the Classic
Writer is inComparable. It is Complx, multiFaceted, ProFound, Poetic, Lyrical,
Evocative, Dramatic, Distinctive, and flows Naturally, allmost Effortlessly,
though, you know, All the Effort went into making it read that Way.
3. Most Classic Novels are told in a Realist Style. This, because it seems Contentious,
is a Subject I want to xplore Some More - hence the Title of this Essay :
Realism vs. Absrudism
in Classic Literature
- or -
Majik Realism and the Quest for Genius
Having read Many Many
“Classic Novels,” I have concluded that Most are told in a “Realist” Style. To define “Realist” I am going to compare that Particular
Style to what I consider to be its Opposite - “Absurdist.” In this Essay, a “Realist” Novel ( Most Poetry is by Definition Lyrical as opposed to Realist [ Charles Bukowski is an Xample of a Realist Poet ], and Most Philosophy is by Definition Realist as opposed to Lyrical - Poetry and Philosophy being, in my Mind, Poles of the Same Globe, with Fiction to One Side of the Equator and Religion to the Other
), a “Realist” Novel is a Novel in which All the Details in that Novel All could have taken Place in Real Life, even if they didn't. An “Absurdist” Novel is One in which neither the Events nor the Characters in the Book could Reasonably have taken Place. Here I have set up the Contrast between Realist Literature and the Pulpy subGenre of Absurdism also known as “Genre Fiction” - allmost noThing that happens in a Work of Genre Fiction could take Place in Real Life. Absrudism becomes More Literary as it moves Closer to “Satire,” and, as Absrudism moves Closer to Satire, it also moves Closer to Realism.
), a “Realist” Novel is a Novel in which All the Details in that Novel All could have taken Place in Real Life, even if they didn't. An “Absurdist” Novel is One in which neither the Events nor the Characters in the Book could Reasonably have taken Place. Here I have set up the Contrast between Realist Literature and the Pulpy subGenre of Absurdism also known as “Genre Fiction” - allmost noThing that happens in a Work of Genre Fiction could take Place in Real Life. Absrudism becomes More Literary as it moves Closer to “Satire,” and, as Absrudism moves Closer to Satire, it also moves Closer to Realism.
A Completely
Absrudist Work of Literature is, of Course, imPossible; and a Totally Realistic Book is nonFiction, not a Novel.
Literature is what happens when the Author invents
Genre Fiction is what
happens when the Author copies
( through Repetition, a Plot / Character develops Realism [ a StereoType is a Kernel of Truth which is inflated by Means of Repetition ], but then Quickly becomes Stock ).
Satire is what happens when the Author
comments
Literature is what happens when the Author invents
Realism and it’s Fantastical subGenre, Majik Realism, is what happens when the Story determines what is considered “Reality”
So, what does this
mean? It means that the Closer you are to Absurdism, the Shittier a Writer you
are, and the Closer you are to Realism, the Better you are. Or, to put it a Nicer Way, trying
to invent a Story is the Work of an Amateur. The Genius becomes the Story.
Hence the Success of
Tao Lin, who has coupled Genre Fiction's Memetic Repetition with Realism's Objectivity and Majik Realism's Mythological Aspects. I’ll talk More about him Later. Now I want to elaborate on the Most
Illusive of the Genres, “Majik Realism”, which, in this Essay, I am using to designate the Sweet Spot of Literature where Belief
and disBelief are Suspended, and the World of the Book, no Matter what it describes,
is as Real as the Hands you are holding it with.
Attempting Majik Realism is how Many Young Literary Writers fall into the Trap of Absurdism. Majik Realism, when done Right, has the Feel of a Dream, and who doesn’t want to live Dreams? For this Reason - trying to capture the Dream-State - Novice Writers are inclined to intersplice Reality and Fantasy in their Work. Most of the Results are
CringeWorthy. With Every “unRealistic” Event a Novice Author puts into a Book, the further they slide into Absurdism, the Mire of Mediocrity. For this Reason, if
you want to get Attention, like, Fast, and Respect, as a Young Writer write about your Life ( the Thing you know Best ) in a Realistic Style.
We are predisPosed to like whatever “relates” to us. Tao Lin writes about his
Totally Normal Boring Life as a Hispter in New York and he becomes the Sensation of his
Generation ( Same for Lena Dunham ). Noah Cicero writes about being a DishWasher in Ohio and becomes a Cult Hit. Marie Calloway
fucks a Dude and EveryBody cares. Cat Marnell is a Drug Addict. Sheila Heti has Friends. HooRah. Yawn. AnyWay. It works.
But, because Most
People live Similar Lives, eSpecially now that American Consumer Capitalism has
taken over the Globe and ENSLAVED US ALL, writing about your Life in a Realist Style Pure and
Simple can get Repetitive.
So the Trap of Absurdism lurks. Don’t fall in my Friend, don’t fall in. I mean - you can fall in. Most Writers do. And these Writers live Perfectly Fine Lives and are Well-received and Widely Read. What I’m talking about is if you want to achieve Literary Genius - if you want to be a Classic Author. And that is a Task Only for the Most Dedicated of us.
So the Trap of Absurdism lurks. Don’t fall in my Friend, don’t fall in. I mean - you can fall in. Most Writers do. And these Writers live Perfectly Fine Lives and are Well-received and Widely Read. What I’m talking about is if you want to achieve Literary Genius - if you want to be a Classic Author. And that is a Task Only for the Most Dedicated of us.
Which Brings me back
to Majik Realism, the Sweet Spot of Literature, the One Every Writer tries for and
Most fail to get at. The Great Social Novelists of the 1800s didn’t even bother. They were like, fuck it, Guys - let's just stick
to Realism - that's Epic enough, what with the Wars. Kafka went there ( Majik Realism ). Nietzsche went there. Joyce went there. The Poets go there.
The Poets live there, Man - that’s why they die so Young. It’s the Darkness. The unConscience. The Land
of Mythology. Cause that’s
what the Best Magik Realist Literature is - it’s Mythology, and it’s the Stuff
that sticks around a Long Long Long Long Time.
So, it’s Kind of
Ironic that if you attempt to wade into Mythology through inVention, you fall into
the Trap of Absurdism, and if you write about your Life Straight-up you get Attention ( note how I talk about the Boring Popular Realist Writers
More Often than I talk about the More Interesting but Less Popular Imaginative Writers ). This Paradox is
because Majik Realism, Mythology, the Stuff that lasts, is a Genre of Realism. ie - you
have to get through Realism to get at it. The Thing to do is to make Sure you're writing Compelling Realistic Scenes.
What the Myths of your Culture are you cannot see until you describe
them as they are. So Tao Lin and Marie Calloway and Megan Boyle and Noah Cicero and Cat Marnell and Sheila Heti and I build a
Contemporary Mythology around ourSelves Simply by talking about ourSelves as we are. Tao Lin is a
Master of Memetic Replication. It is his Particular Genius. He has managed to
get his Reality Meme out there More Effectively than Noah Cicero, who has a Similar
Writing Style but a Broader Subject Matter, because Tao has created SomeThing
Very Simple ( a line of minimalist prose ) and he repeats it Easily and Efficiently
( that Poem about the Whale that went on and on the Same Line; Novels Full of Similar Sentences and Scenes over and over again; Constant Twitting about iNane
Things; ect ). Marie Calloway is a Tao Lin Meme. So is Megan Boyle. Both Girls were selected by Tao Lin
from All the Girls out there because he could use them to market his Meme ( build his Personal Mythology - his Majik [ Realist ] Aura ). Blake
Butler has SomeThing of a Personal Mythology because he is Active in the American Lit Scene, but his Novels fall into the Absurdist Trap, and until he gets out of that his Literary Fiction will not be as
Popular as his nonFiction, which is Realistic.
So, what happens is,
the Further you dive into yourSelf, your Xperiences, the More Realistic you get, but also the
More Majikal. Life its Self begins to
seem Majikal, and the Need for inVention drifts away into the Dreamscape that is “Reality” at the Cosmic Level.
I don’t invent
no
I am
no
I am
That’s why my Work is
so Convincing. That’s why S.i/S: will
be a Classic, and noOne will know if I “made it up” or not - the Answer to that Question can Never be determined because “Reality” itsSelf is unStable Ground.
But enough about me.
I allready know I’m a Genius. What I’m Curious about are the Others. Who will
join me in the Land of the Classics? Who has it in them? The Stamina? The Purity
of Drive in the Literary ArtForm ( One of the Most Difficult ArtForms )? The Willingness to let go of their Smaller Self ( their Self ) and join
their Larger Self ( their Era )?
It is those who are
the Least concerned with “Popular Opinion” who can get to this Place - which is why its so Rarely those who are iniTially Popular! - ascribing to Popular Opinion allmost allways means obscuring the Majikal Realist Truth of Subjectivity / Morality for the Sake of not rocking the Boat too Much. As I
said, Genius, the Truest Realism, Mythology ( which is not so “Realistic” at All, is it? ), is found by looking Deep
into the Self. Those whose Sense of Self is Lacking, those who need Others to award them their Worth or will make theirSelves over to be accepted, will not make it - these People will be led aStray by the Conventions of the Moment; they are More Concerned with Social Graces than with Literature, and so they will not be Geniuses, though
they may be read by Many People in their Own Time. Those whom the Story carries, however, those who are allways
looking for the Story, not out there in Other People or in Escapist Fantasies but in theirSelves, they will find it, and I am sure it will look
to them as it looks to me as it looks in Bolano as it looks in Tolstoy as it
looks in Faust as it looks in Homer - like Mythology - like Majik.
Allways be Ready to change your Mind.
Allways be Ready to change your Mind.
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