"Oh, but *I* write literature . . ." About literary fiction. And how that term seems to be evolving; I notice in one or two comments that it doesn't seem to mean what it did when I was young ( Read more... )

Here's something I found interesting, anyway. Within the past couple of weeks, four writers I'd thought genre authors have stated that they write literary fiction.

What does that mean to you, literary fiction? Do you think it exclusive or inclusive of genre tropes, spec fic elements, or story patterns usually found in genre ( Read more... )

david_de_beer linked to this fascinating riff about so-called literary fiction vs. science fiction, which includes some definitions of what many mean by "literary" and examples of what might be considered "literary science fiction." If you read the article, do take in the comments, though there are over a hundred. Most are short, and you won't want to miss ( Read more... )

I want to wave the banner for a superb essay in the November issue of New York Review of Science Fiction (website located here ).
( Read more... )

One of the things recently discussed: it’s even more difficult to define what is, and is not, good literature when our fundamental definition of the purpose of literature is radically different from another’s.

That’s not to say that I believe there is a single definition. I do not. I will only go so far as to posit that my own definition works ( Read more... )