Postmodernism (1950 - Present)

1
Postmodernism (1950 - Present)

• Allows for multiple meanings and multiple words.
• Structures works in nontraditional forms.
• Comments upon itself.
• Features cultural diversity.
• Blends and overlaps fiction and nonfiction.
• Uses the past fearlessly.

2
Postmodernism

• Salinger
• Angelou
• Ginsberg
• Harjo
• Soto
• N. Scott Momaday

• Gallows humor
• New Journalism/Literary Journalism
• The Beat poets/generation
• Confessional School

3
Southern Writers

• Influenced by William Faulkner.
• Leading Flannery OConner
• Increased quantity and quality of writing during
  the period between the two World Wars.
• Detailed customs/society of the American South in
  rich detail.

4
Post-War Writers

• Combined absurdity, dark humor, and grim fantasy
  into their work.
• Example Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
• Atomic bomb and arms race (militarism) pushed
  authors in the direction of this black humor
  combined with a surrealism/fantasy based story.
• Blended fiction/nonfiction.

5
Poets

• Many followed traditional forms but became for
  confessional shared intimate information.
  Strong impact on readers and form of poetry.
• Influenced by W.C. Williams, poets such as Allen
  Ginsberg played with form, style and performance
  of poetry.
• Poems and art became more fluid and could
  change with the artists renditions.

6
Diversity

• Different perspectives ethnic backgrounds/race,
  life experiences, gender, sexual orientation,
  age, etc
• Strength in diversityseeds of past (literature),
  grow in the present and future (literary
  tradition and writers).
• Change in the future of literature and its forms
  is unpredictable.

7
Questions

1. How is postmodernism different from modernism?
   Explain.
2. Explain confessional poetry? Examples of
   writers? How did this affect postmodernist
   writing?
3. Why has the blending of fiction/nonfiction in
   writing caused controversy? Explain.
4. Explain some ways that literary forms have
   changed in past ten years (since this text was
   written). Why have these changes occurred?

8
Questions

• How and why does language (such as English)
  evolve?
• Identify the word parts and original language of
  the following computer terms home page, inkjet,
  and laptop.
• Example Camcorder Combination of camera from
  Latin word for vault and recorder which is
  Latin word for remember.

9
Journal 2 Diversity

• What is diversity? Explain. What are the
  positive and negative aspects of living in a
  diverse culture? Explain. If you had a choice,
  would you rather live in a place that has a lot
  of diversity or very little diversity? Why?