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• Contemporaries
• Book Series

Contemporary Literature from the Classroom

Edited by Rebecca Roach

Rebecca Roach

Envisioning AfAm Literary History in Norwegian Fjord og Fjell

Eir-Anne Edgar

Multicultural Literature in a Superdiverse City

Joseph Anderton

The Play of Classrooms

Rob Gallagher, Chloé Germaine, and Paul Wake

“Literature” and the “Contemporary” in the German American Studies Classroom

Tim Lanzendörfer

Teaching Ten Years of “Last Year’s Novels”

Dave Gunning

Marginality and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the contemporary English Literature classroom: an ‘aggregated’ perspective

John Roache and Cyrus Larcombe Moore

Melancholy Margery

Ramsey McGlazer

Notes From the Edge: Reflections on Black Literature, Feeling, and Teaching

Janine Bradbury

Bodies’ Return to Physical Books: Teaching through and alongside BookTok and Bookstagram

Clare Mullaney

Introduction

It feels like a precarious moment to be talking from the classroom. It has for a long time. When I originally wrote these words (January 2024) the politicization of the campus classroom was visceral, the morning after Claudine Gay's resignation offering one more beat in the rhythm of cancels, bans and pings. Here in the UK, months after a cyberattack, the British Library was still effectively shuttered: "knowledge under attack" and the government quietly indifferent. 1 The media cycle moved on, the disquiet remains. Culture wars take many forms but the idea that the classroom has ever been a place outside politics grows ever less tenuous.

The politics, affects, and aesthetics of precarity, precarization, the precariat, have been the focus of economists, political theorists, philosophers, activists, critics, and fiction writers. It's an already-arrived AI "textpocalpyse" that renders any effects this writing might hope to have as itself precarious: the "sense of an imperfect present that is without the compensation of a hopeful future." 2

In our era of crises — political, epidemiological, social, ecological, but also of expertise, institutional and disciplinary legitimacy — the teacher of contemporary literature seems constantly to face their own existential crisis; students, too. This cluster was not envisioned as being oriented around continued crisis, around precarity (it's an exhausting position to inhabit), but rather the question of how we might understand contemporary literature from the classroom.

Laura Heffernan and Rachel Sagner Buurma have compellingly elucidated what they call the "work" of classrooms, which they insist has been crucial to the development of literary methods and canons. 3 In the context of teaching contemporary literature the work seems to take on further complexity. When Robert Eaglestone contemplated contemporary fiction in the academy a decade ago, he chose the form of the manifesto (or notes "towards" it), a mode of writing explicitly oriented around political futures, a hope for change which the ontology of precarity would seem to undercut. 4 If this work of classrooms isn't simply speculative (I'll admit I have long resented the emotional work that speculative fiction seems to demand of me), then what is it today?

Theodore Martin emphasizes contemporary literature's conceptually tense relationship with history: the category of the contemporary "compels us to think, above all, about the politics of how we think about the present." 5 We are asked to contemplate the mediating, framing work that must occur to place the literary object in the classroom; it is sometimes a precarious, vulnerable position to occupy. Our own participation, our function in shaping that literary object and its classroom reception, is exposed. This isn't just a question of what texts make it into the classroom. Content wars might be rancorous but we also grapple continuously with our own determinations of expertise, archive, period, form, politics.

We are forced to confront questions around the work that goes on in and from contemporary literature classrooms. What is that work? To what purpose? How do we characterize the work that teachers and students singularly and collectively undertake? And what might that tell us about what we understand contemporary literature (from the classroom) to be? From the vulnerability of this position, what might we learn?

In early 2021, against the backdrop of another lockdown, I was teaching a course titled "The Social Life of Literature." It aimed to get final-year undergraduates thinking about how we interact with literature today — about the ways in which books don't exist in a vacuum, and how communities discover, read, and talk about books in the twenty-first century.

I hadn't imagined that the course would take place online, another small failure of imagination from that time. Without access to a physical space, we were newly tenanted in digital spaces. The experience of teaching from that classroom was a disorientating one, affectively and spatially: the dreary desperation of Zoom breakout rooms mixed with the giddy respite that seemed to come from the chance to simply talk together about books. The students, anxious, self-surveilling, restless, vulnerable, and depleted, were also resolved to enjoy these discussions: it was their last class before they graduated, warily, into a traumatized world.

One reason why this class sticks in my mind is how much it showed up the disconnect between the work of classrooms and their imagined, textualized form — not in novels but in paperwork (parsing the latter is less appealing but both entail undervalued labor). In the UK, higher education course materials now fall under consumer protection laws, overseen by the Competition and Markets Authority, with the bureaucratic result that all classes are set in textual form around eighteen months ahead of anyone entering a classroom. There is an art to dangling texts and course details to tantalize the prospective imagined student while trying to leave room for the exigencies of life and actual students.

Like so many classes taught in that period at institutions around the world, the 2021 iteration of "The Social Life of Literature" was utterly reconfigured from its bureaucratically ordained form. It was reconceptualized in a way unanticipated by the paperwork that governed the class, reminding us that viewing the classroom as an object or site, rather than a salutation ("from the classroom") is a precarious perspective. If the disconnect between the present reality of 2021 and the textual make-believe of 2019's course descriptions was unusually stark, it nevertheless pointed to an underlying situation in which contemporary literature in the classroom is always out of date, precariously framed by an institutional commitment to predictable futures.

The structure of "The Social Life of Literature" was thematic, each week dedicated to a site, practice, or community form. Alongside UK school curricula, BookTok, and publisher imprints, we analyzed bookstores, public reading events, festivals — spaces and events we had planned to experience collectively but were forced to engage with from our geographically dispersed isolation. What had initially seemed like a vulnerability — decentering the physical book — quickly became an asset as we assessed the impact of less tangible forms and practices upon our interpretative norms. It was the class on school curricula that most seemed to invigorate students with the possibilities to be found in precarity. Framed around the lack of diversity in the GCSE English syllabus (a compulsory exam taken at 16 by all pupils), students were asked to critically assess that document. Up in arms about the lack of authors of color and women writers, (a legacy of former UK Conversative Education Secretary, Michael Gove, an easy target in the UK, especially in the midst of a lockdown heavily associated with Tory mismanagement), students imagined other possible curricula — speculative fictions I can get behind. In emphasizing the precarity of the syllabus — as a politically constructed document — these students found, in their precarious collectivity, the agency to imagine a different classroom and a different future.

That 2021 course demands memorial tenancy rights for another, corporeal, reason. Along with the pandemic, it met the gestation of my second child with a bump. Pregnancies and parenting don't fit easily into academic planning, even in countries with barely decent family leave (state precarization of reproductive labor). Hence why my memories of that class interleave talk of Genette's paratexts with retching into a bucket just off screen. The academic worker in the classroom relies upon bodily regulation. In the reconfigured classroom mute buttons have their advantages.

While we all like to think we are irreplaceable, it is difficult (particularly during a pandemic) to replace bodies mid-semester: try giving a colleague's lecture for them, or sub in to cover a seminar. It isn't just a question of expertise. It isn't just content, it's about tone, style of delivery, claims that one is and isn't comfortable making or discussions led. You can muddle through, hoping the students do too, but it is an uncomfortable experience. We received a reminder that we — teachers and students — aren't as easily subbed out, like players on the pitch, as the rhetoric of worker fungibility that pervades the neoliberal university might suggest.

I don't seek to dismiss the insidious effects of casualization and worker precarity on a sector-wide level. In the shift to adjunct, short-term contracts, in the gigification of higher education teaching, in the exploitations made possible by worker "oversupply," and in the precarity that these processes produce, are very real problems. I write from the privileged position of having a permanent job but with the recognition that precarization has economic, affective, and political results for all of us and for the work of classrooms. Exactly what those effects might be is more slippery. To conceive of classrooms as sites of work seems to assume a kind of locatedness, of place and containment that belies the leaky, contaminated, plural, and gestative experiences of which I have been writing. But I wonder whether the precarious work of and from contemporary literature classrooms might help us to aggregate some ideas that often remain disconnected and remaindered in our discussions. The essays in this cluster attempt to do just that.

Two of the essays deal explicitly with questions of classroom formation and place. Eir-Anne Edgar reflects on her experience of teaching contemporary African American literature in the Norwegian classroom — contemplating the effects to be had from examining the literary object from a position of apparent geographical precarity. Joseph Anderton meanwhile explores the ways in which the location of the classroom — in a superdiverse city — might shape the interpretative work that students conduct.

If debates about diversity on campus have featured strongly in public discourse, they have been joined by those on generative artificial intelligence (the topic of my research outside the classroom), exposing a collective anxiety around the perceived vulnerability of our discipline's learning and assessment models in an age of computational reproduction. Even for the more measured MLA-CCC Joint Taskforce on Writing and AI, "The risks and threats to students, teachers, and the profession are real and profound." 6 Precarity takes the form of disciplinary future obsolescence. This is precarity that turns precisely on the work that we identify so strongly as emerging from (but rarely within — the writing and grading of student essays takes place outside) the classroom. Here Rob Gallagher, Chloé Germaine, and Paul Wake explore the precarization of the book  by reflecting on the inclusion of video games in contemporary literature classrooms, acknowledging, as well, the logistics necessary for technological work from the classroom.  

From one perspective, these generative anxieties are nothing new, part of a much longer history of new technology and labor automation and debates which have forced us to grapple, restlessly, with the nature of classroom work. What do we do and how to we value it? Who will be replaced by the machine? Which work will be rendered obsolete? How do we prepare our students and ourselves for this unpredictable future? In the humanities, we are all luddites now — or so the fearmongering goes.

That this is not a new concern is illustrated by the handwringing of postwar critics. Hugh Kenner was debating the work of campus classrooms in the pages of the conservative National Review in 1959 — would the college teacher be "automated out" with the advent of television? Kenner was confident in his own liberal humanism: it was in the classroom dialogue between student and teacher that "letters" were transformed "into literacy, and literacy into civilization." 7 The passivity of television didn't pose a threat to a classroom populated by the GI Bill, but is the situation more precarious today? Are the chattering bots coming for us all?

Such debates should push us to consider our own assumptions around what makes an idea teacher. What kind of interface between student and material, between student and contemporary do we find desirable, or positions us least precariously? Is the perfect teacher of contemporary literature in fact a (supposedly) "transparent" mediator — a chat interface? In his essay "'Literature' and the 'Contemporary' in the German American Studies Classroom," Tim Lanzendörfer offers a hopeful vision : to teach contemporary literature is to become "'time-comradely" with ones' students. For another take on this topic, my colleague Dave Gunning reflects on the experience of a decade of teaching his course "Last Year's Novels." With a constantly updating and outdating syllabus, the teacher can have little claim to expertise.  

The general narratives of technological precarity miss, of course, the specifics of what might change, what human work will become devalued, casualized, precarized, and how we might choose to respond to those processes and their effects. (I, for example, have my own personal vendetta against administrations that seem to think that climate change will be solved if we stop printing out paper worksheets for classes — as if the carbon footprint of cloud storage was as ineffable as the metaphor.  Teaching literature is not facilitating ecological precarity.) One useful avenue of thinking is explored by John Roache and his former student, poet Cyrus Larcombe Moore, in their essay "Marginality and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Contemporary English Literature Classroom: an 'Aggregated' Perspective." What might it mean, they ask, to embrace a position on the margins in teaching? What might the aggregation of writing mean for our understandings of literary and classroom labor?  

The import of these questions is large. The humanities have long positioned themselves as a bulwark against the kinds of reproducibility that seems to lend itself, under capitalism, to precarization. The literary object, in its material and aesthetic specificity, with its cultural indexicality, offers a kind of resistance. So too, the charismatic professor, the knowledge worker whose expertise resists easy exchange offers an antidote to our current crisis of casualization — even as we see that knowledge attacked as obfuscation, irrelevance, elitism today. Yet when we examine contemporary literature from the classroom, the traditional vision of the seminar room as sacred locus — the utopic originating spot wherein the humanities gestate a future citizen, nation, culture, worker — seems to dissipate.

There are opportunities to be had in this precarization. Several essays in the cluster grapple explicitly and generatively with the affective import of this. Ramsey McGlazer's piece "Melancholy Margery " ponders the (precarious) feelings that teaching can provoke. Describing the experience of teaching — and recalling the teaching of — Robert Glück's Margery Kempe , McGlazer explores, paratactically, what is produced, affectively and politically, from the neoliberal classroom. Janine Bradbury, meanwhile, in "Notes From the Edge: Reflections on Black Literature, Feeling, and Teaching," proposes the concept of "edge work" — inherent with precarity, excess, and marginality — as way of critically engaging with the practice of teaching Black Literature. 

Elsewhere, contributors explore the political potential to be found from this precarious position from the classroom. In "Bodies' Return to Physical Books: Teaching Through and Alongside BookTok and Bookstagram," Clare Mullaney speaks of the pedagogical gains to be had from drawing on practices developed outside the classroom — in this case digital articulations of physical reading practices, by readers whose disabilities have long positioned them as precarious within the capitalist worker contract.

The cluster also attempts to render precarious the form of the classroom itself: where and what is a classroom today? This cluster's episode of Pod45, the Post45: Contemporaries podcast (itself an experiment in pedagogical forms), includes, in addition to a roundtable discussion with contributors, an interview with Adrienne Ghaly . There she offers reflections on one unconventional classroom, through her discussion of the project Read For Action: the Humanitarian Book Club . An online book club, Read For Action explicitly considers the power of novel-reading and reading community efforts to tackle humanitarian challenges today. This is work from a very different vision of what constitutes a classroom. The podcast episode will be available on all platforms on May 27th.

The essays clustered here are attempts. Several of the contributors spoke to me about the vulnerability they felt in writing these pieces — the precarity entailed in writing from the classroom. It's a feeling I share, but also one that gets me thinking about what the de facto writing position is, or rather where it is (strangely everywhere but the classroom), and why this writing feels so uncomfortable. As much as this cluster is interested in contemporary literature from the classroom, it is also a meditation on the people inhabiting those spaces, physically and textually, today.

Rebecca Roach is Associate Professor of Contemporary Literature at the University of Birmingham, UK. She has written widely on literary media, institutions, and practices — including monograph projects on interviews, programmed literature, and talking machines. Current collaborations (new participants always welcome!) include work around Stuart Hall's (Digital) Archive ( https://stuarthallarchive.bham.ac.uk/ ) and Academic Forms in the Humanities ( https://keyforms.bham.ac.uk/ ).

• Roly Keating, " Knowledge under attack ," Knowledge Matters Blog, British Library, 15 December 2023. [ ⤒ ]
• Matthew Kirschenbaum, " Prepare for the Textpocalypse ," The Atlantic , 8 March 2023; Sophy Kohler, "Death knells and dead ends: Latent futurity in Masande Ntshanga’s  The Reactive  and Mohale Mashigo's 'Ghost Strain N,'" in Precarity in Contemporary Literature and Culture, edited by Emily J. Hogg and Peter Simonsen (London: Bloomsbury, 2022), 119. [ ⤒ ]
• Laura Heffernan and Rachel Sagner Buurma, The Teaching Archive: A New History for Literary Study , (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2020). [ ⤒ ]
• Robert Eaglestone, " Contemporary fiction in the academy: towards a manifesto ,"  Textual Practice 27, no. 7 (2013): 1089-1101. [ ⤒ ]
• Theodore Martin, Contemporary Drift: Genre, Historicism, and the Problem of the Present (New York: Columbia University Press, 2017). [ ⤒ ]
• MLA-CCCC Joint Task Force on Writing and AI, " MLA-CCCC Joint Task Force on Writing and AI Working Paper: Overview of the Issues, Statement of Principles, and Recommendations ," July 2023, 6. [ ⤒ ]
• Hugh Kenner, "Automated Out?" National Review , 10 October 1959, 389-90, 389. [ ⤒ ]

Past clusters

Abortion Now, Abortion Forever

African American Satire in the Twenty-First Century

Ali Smith Now

American Bimbo

Anti-Work Aesthetics

Asian/American (Anti-)Bodies

Bernadette Mayer

Bored As Hell

Critique in the Trump Era

Cultural Analytics Now

Dark Academia

David Berman

Decolonize X?

Ecologies of Neoliberal Publishing

Extraordinary Renditions

Feel Your Fantasy: The Drag Race Cluster

For Speed and Creed: The Fast and Furious Franchise

Forms of the Global Anglophone

Gestures of Refusal

Get in the Cage

Global Horror

Heteropessimism

How We Write (Well)

Interpretive Difficulty

Keywords for Postcolonial Thought

Leaving Hollywoo: Essays After BoJack Horseman

Legacies — 9/11 and the War On Terror at Twenty

Little Magazines

Locating Lorine Niedecker

Lydia Davis

Mike Davis Forever

Minimalisms Now: Race, Affect, Aesthetics

New Filmic Geographies

New Literary Television

Poetry's Social Forms

Public Humanities as/and Comparatist Practice

Reading Disco Elysium

Reading Sally Rooney

Reading with Algorithms

Roth’s Yahrzeit

Slow Burn: Quarantine Edition

Someone Else's Object

Stranger Things and Nostalgia Now

The 7 Neoliberal Arts

The After Archive

The Bachelor

The Body of Contemporary Latina/o/x Poetry

The Hallyu Project

The Pain Cluster

The Stuff of Figure, Now

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Tis the Damn Season: Taylor Swift's evermore

W(h)ither the Christian Right?

Web 2.0 and Literary Criticism

What's Contemporary About the Academy Awards?

Post45 is a collective of scholars working on American literature and culture since 1945. The group was founded in 2006 and has met annually since to discuss new work in the field.

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• Contemporary Literature

About this Journal

Contemporary Literature publishes scholarly essays on contemporary writing in English, interviews with established and emerging authors, and reviews of recent critical books in the field. The journal welcomes articles on multiple genres, including poetry, the novel, drama, creative nonfiction, new media and digital literature, and graphic narrative. Contemporary Literature published the first articles on Thomas Pynchon and Susan Howe and the first interviews with Margaret Drabble and Don DeLillo; it also helped to introduce Kazuo Ishiguro, Eavan Boland, and J. M. Coetzee to American readers. As a forum for discussing issues animating the range of contemporary literary studies, Contemporary Literature features the full diversity of critical practices. The editors seek articles that frame their analysis of texts within larger literary historical, theoretical, or cultural debates.

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10 Contemporary American Essayists You Should Be Reading Right Now

Today marks the release of celebrated novelist and essayist Marilynne Robinson’s newest collection of essays, When I Was a Child I Read Books . We’ve been excited about this book for a while now, so if you’ve been reading our books coverage with any regularity you probably already know we think it’s something worth picking up. Great as it is, Robinson’s collection only whet our appetites for more essays by contemporary writers, so in case it does the same for you, we’ve put together a list of contemporary essayists we think everyone should be reading right now (or, you know, whenever you finish watching Downton Abbey ). We’ve tried to stick to authors who are still alive — so David Foster Wallace and Christopher Hitchens are off the table, though they both would have made this list with flying colors were they still with us — and limited ourselves to American writers, but even with those caveats, there is enough in these writers’ oeuvres to keep you up and thinking for weeks on end. Click through to read our list, and please do add your own suggestions for top-notch essayists we should all be reading in the comments.

Marilynne Robinson

Though Robinson is much lauded for her fiction (she won the Pulitzer Prize for her second novel, Gilead ), she is equally adored for her incisive essays, which often take hard looks at Americanism and the social political system writ both large and very small. Dorris Lessing called her 1998 collection, The Death of Adam , “a useful antidote to the increasingly crude and slogan-loving culture we inhabit,” and we’re comfortable expanding that statement to Robinson’s work at large — always challenging, always thought provoking, always making us want to be better.

John Jeremiah Sullivan

Sullivan’s recent collection, Pulphead , has had everyone raving since it hit shelves in October — and with good reason. With exacting, witty prose, Sullivan tackles pop culture and history with equal ability, writing about everything from Real World alumni to Christian rock festivals in the Ozarks to Constantine Rafinesque, a nineteenth-century genius struggling for a foothold. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll wonder about modern existence — and what else are essays for?

Cynthia Ozick

Though David Foster Wallace was disqualified from this list, he lives on in Ozick, whom he listed (alongside Cormac McCarthy and Don DeLillo) as one of the country’s best living fiction writers. From the king of the contemporary essay, that’s a ringing endorsement. Not that she really needs it, however — Ozick has no less than seven essay collections to her name, alongside a host of novels and short fiction, and writes on almost every subject, though she tends to favor the Jewish American lens. Her prose is perfectly self-conscious, sharp and crystal clear, she is witty and definitely smarter than you. Which is really never bad.

John D’Agata

D’Agata, already a celebrated essayist, has been in the news recently due to the release of The Lifespan of a Fact , a years-long conversation between D’Agata and his fact checker about the very nature of essay-writing. The book must itself, of course, be a semi-fiction, proving its own point, in a way — but that just makes the whole thing all the more interesting. But if for no other reason, you should read D’Agata because he’s tackling questions that have long stumped both readers and writers, and will probably continue to for some time. Better get acquainted.

An important social equality activist and scholar, bell hooks’ writings are must-reads for anyone. Incredibly prolific both in the academic and essay format (and in many other types of media as well), hooks writes about race, gender, feminism, class, art, and the world at large, often through a postmodern lens. She is fiery and unabashed about her beliefs, as every intelligent woman should be, and though this has of course caused some to criticize her, it has caused many more to love her. Obviously, we’re in the latter camp.

Sarah Vowell

The author of six nonfiction books on American history and culture as well as many essays, Vowell is practiced at cultural criticism. A frequent contributor to This American Life , where many of her essays get their starts, she comes at the contemporary social world with a supreme understanding of our country’s past. After all, she does write a lot about assassinated presidents. Fun fact: she’s also a voice actor, best known for her portrayal as Violet Parr in The Incredibles . Though she doesn’t really need it, we admit that makes us like her more.

Elif Batuman

Elif Batuman’s first collection of essays, The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them , published last year, reveals her to be a complete nerd — in the best of ways, of course. Unpretentiously in love with literature and blessed with a relentlessly charming voice, almost everything we read by Batuman sends us scrambling back to our bookshelves for that novel she’s reminded us we’re dying to dive into. And that, friends, is always a good thing.

Touré sort of has a hand in everything — he writes essays and short stories, has a novel under his belt, is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone and hosts hip-hop shows on Fuse. Constant through all his mediums, however, are his insightful, intimate — and often hilarious — observations about race, class, and the wild and crazy world of pop culture. In his most recent book, Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness?: What It Means to Be Black Now , he explores race as “a completely liquid shape-shifter that can take any form” and aims “to attack and destroy the idea that there is a correct or legitimate way of doing blackness.” Provocative and brilliant, we think this is a guy who’ll keep changing the cultural landscape for years to come.

David Shields

Like D’Agata, Shields is concerned with probing the edges of what makes an essay an essay — or if we should even have terms like “essay” at all. In his 2010 book Reality Hunger , Shields argues that the “lyric essay” is contemporary culture’s premier literary form — but that such terms don’t really matter, as all of culture is in the midst of getting mixed up in a huge intellectual blender. While we had our issues with the book, he makes some fascinating points, all worth reading in this age of mash-ups and DIY and shifting intellectual property rights.

Sloane Crosley

Crosley’s hilarious personal essays are smart and observant and relentlessly sly. Like a lady Sedaris, she wins you over with self-deprecating humor and indignant reactions to the weirdness of the everyday world. Though her essays are no intellectual slog, they will make you smile, commiserate, and perhaps enjoy your day just a little bit more.

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The Best Reviewed Essay Collections of 2021

Featuring joan didion, rachel kushner, hanif abdurraqib, ann patchett, jenny diski, and more.

Well, friends, another grim and grueling plague year is drawing to a close, and that can mean only one thing: it’s time to put on our Book Marks stats hats and tabulate the best reviewed books of the past twelve months.

Yes, using reviews drawn from more than 150 publications, over the next two weeks we’ll be revealing the most critically-acclaimed books of 2021, in the categories of (deep breath): Memoir and Biography ; Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror ; Short Story Collections ; Essay Collections; Poetry; Mystery and Crime; Graphic Literature; Literature in Translation; General Fiction; and General Nonfiction.

Today’s installment: Essay Collections .

Brought to you by Book Marks , Lit Hub’s “Rotten Tomatoes for books.”

1. These Precious Days by Ann Patchett (Harper)

21 Rave • 3 Positive • 1 Mixed Read Ann Patchett on creating the work space you need, here

“… excellent … Patchett has a talent for friendship and celebrates many of those friends here. She writes with pure love for her mother, and with humor and some good-natured exasperation at Karl, who is such a great character he warrants a book of his own. Patchett’s account of his feigned offer to buy a woman’s newly adopted baby when she expresses unwarranted doubts is priceless … The days that Patchett refers to are precious indeed, but her writing is anything but. She describes deftly, with a line or a look, and I considered the absence of paragraphs freighted with adjectives to be a mercy. I don’t care about the hue of the sky or the shade of the couch. That’s not writing; it’s decorating. Or hiding. Patchett’s heart, smarts and 40 years of craft create an economy that delivers her perfectly understated stories emotionally whole. Her writing style is most gloriously her own.”

–Alex Witchel ( The New York Times Book Review )

2. Let Me Tell You What I Mean by Joan Didion (Knopf)

14 Rave • 12 Positive • 6 Mixed Read an excerpt from Let Me Tell You What I Mean here

“In five decades’ worth of essays, reportage and criticism, Didion has documented the charade implicit in how things are, in a first-person, observational style that is not sacrosanct but common-sensical. Seeing as a way of extrapolating hypocrisy, disingenuousness and doubt, she’ll notice the hydrangeas are plastic and mention it once, in passing, sorting the scene. Her gaze, like a sentry on the page, permanently trained on what is being disguised … The essays in Let Me Tell You What I Mean are at once funny and touching, roving and no-nonsense. They are about humiliation and about notions of rightness … Didion’s pen is like a periscope onto the creative mind—and, as this collection demonstrates, it always has been. These essays offer a direct line to what’s in the offing.”

–Durga Chew-Bose ( The New York Times Book Review )

3. Orwell’s Roses by Rebecca Solnit (Viking)

12 Rave • 13 Positive • 1 Mixed Read an excerpt from Orwell’s Roses here

“… on its simplest level, a tribute by one fine essayist of the political left to another of an earlier generation. But as with any of Solnit’s books, such a description would be reductive: the great pleasure of reading her is spending time with her mind, its digressions and juxtapositions, its unexpected connections. Only a few contemporary writers have the ability to start almost anywhere and lead the reader on paths that, while apparently meandering, compel unfailingly and feel, by the end, cosmically connected … Somehow, Solnit’s references to Ross Gay, Michael Pollan, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Peter Coyote (to name but a few) feel perfectly at home in the narrative; just as later chapters about an eighteenth-century portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds and a visit to the heart of the Colombian rose-growing industry seem inevitable and indispensable … The book provides a captivating account of Orwell as gardener, lover, parent, and endlessly curious thinker … And, movingly, she takes the time to find the traces of Orwell the gardener and lover of beauty in his political novels, and in his insistence on the value and pleasure of things .”

–Claire Messud ( Harper’s )

4. Girlhood by Melissa Febos (Bloomsbury)

16 Rave • 5 Positive • 1 Mixed Read an excerpt from Girlhood here

“Every once in a while, a book comes along that feels so definitive, so necessary, that not only do you want to tell everyone to read it now, but you also find yourself wanting to go back in time and tell your younger self that you will one day get to read something that will make your life make sense. Melissa Febos’s fierce nonfiction collection, Girlhood , might just be that book. Febos is one of our most passionate and profound essayists … Girlhood …offers us exquisite, ferocious language for embracing self-pleasure and self-love. It’s a book that women will wish they had when they were younger, and that they’ll rejoice in having now … Febos is a balletic memoirist whose capacious gaze can take in so many seemingly disparate things and unfurl them in a graceful, cohesive way … Intellectual and erotic, engaging and empowering[.]”

–Michelle Hart ( Oprah Daily )

5. Why Didn’t You Just Do What You Were Told by Jenny Diski (Bloomsbury)

14 Rave • 7 Positive

“[Diski’s] reputation as an original, witty and cant-free thinker on the way we live now should be given a significant boost. Her prose is elegant and amused, as if to counter her native melancholia and includes frequent dips into memorable images … Like the ideal artist Henry James conjured up, on whom nothing is lost, Diski notices everything that comes her way … She is discerning about serious topics (madness and death) as well as less fraught material, such as fashion … in truth Diski’s first-person voice is like no other, selectively intimate but not overbearingly egotistic, like, say, Norman Mailer’s. It bears some resemblance to Joan Didion’s, if Didion were less skittish and insistently stylish and generated more warmth. What they have in common is their innate skepticism and the way they ask questions that wouldn’t occur to anyone else … Suffice it to say that our culture, enmeshed as it is in carefully arranged snapshots of real life, needs Jenny Diski, who, by her own admission, ‘never owned a camera, never taken one on holiday.’” It is all but impossible not to warm up to a writer who observes herself so keenly … I, in turn, wish there were more people around who thought like Diski. The world would be a more generous, less shallow and infinitely more intriguing place.”

–Daphne Merkin ( The New York Times Book Review )

6. The Hard Crowd: Essays 2000-2020 by Rachel Kushner (Scribner)

12 Rave • 7 Positive Listen to an interview with Rachel Kushner here

“Whether she’s writing about Jeff Koons, prison abolition or a Palestinian refugee camp in Jerusalem, [Kushner’s] interested in appearances, and in the deeper currents a surface detail might betray … Her writing is magnetised by outlaw sensibility, hard lives lived at a slant, art made in conditions of ferment and unrest, though she rarely serves a platter that isn’t style-mag ready … She makes a pretty convincing case for a political dimension to Jeff Koons’s vacuities and mirrored surfaces, engages repeatedly with the Italian avant garde and writes best of all about an artist friend whose death undoes a spell of nihilism … It’s not just that Kushner is looking back on the distant city of youth; more that she’s the sole survivor of a wild crowd done down by prison, drugs, untimely death … What she remembers is a whole world, but does the act of immortalising it in language also drain it of its power,’neon, in pink, red, and warm white, bleeding into the fog’? She’s mining a rich seam of specificity, her writing charged by the dangers she ran up against. And then there’s the frank pleasure of her sentences, often shorn of definite articles or odd words, so they rev and bucket along … That New Journalism style, live hard and keep your eyes open, has long since given way to the millennial cult of the personal essay, with its performance of pain, its earnest display of wounds received and lessons learned. But Kushner brings it all flooding back. Even if I’m skeptical of its dazzle, I’m glad to taste something this sharp, this smart.”

–Olivia Laing ( The Guardian )

7. The Right to Sex: Feminism in the Twenty-First Century by Amia Srinivasan (FSG)

12 Rave • 7 Positive • 5 Mixed • 1 Pan

“[A] quietly dazzling new essay collection … This is, needless to say, fraught terrain, and Srinivasan treads it with determination and skill … These essays are works of both criticism and imagination. Srinivasan refuses to resort to straw men; she will lay out even the most specious argument clearly and carefully, demonstrating its emotional power, even if her ultimate intention is to dismantle it … This, then, is a book that explicitly addresses intersectionality, even if Srinivasan is dissatisfied with the common—and reductive—understanding of the term … Srinivasan has written a compassionate book. She has also written a challenging one … Srinivasan proposes the kind of education enacted in this brilliant, rigorous book. She coaxes our imaginations out of the well-worn grooves of the existing order.”

–Jennifer Szalai ( The New York Times )

8. A Little Devil in America by Hanif Abdurraqib (Random House)

13 Rave • 4 Positive Listen to an interview with Hanif Abdurraqib here

“[A] wide, deep, and discerning inquest into the Beauty of Blackness as enacted on stages and screens, in unanimity and discord, on public airwaves and in intimate spaces … has brought to pop criticism and cultural history not just a poet’s lyricism and imagery but also a scholar’s rigor, a novelist’s sense of character and place, and a punk-rocker’s impulse to dislodge conventional wisdom from its moorings until something shakes loose and is exposed to audiences too lethargic to think or even react differently … Abdurraqib cherishes this power to enlarge oneself within or beyond real or imagined restrictions … Abdurraqib reminds readers of the massive viewing audience’s shock and awe over seeing one of the world’s biggest pop icons appearing midfield at this least radical of American rituals … Something about the seemingly insatiable hunger Abdurraqib shows for cultural transaction, paradoxical mischief, and Beauty in Blackness tells me he’ll get to such matters soon enough.”

–Gene Seymour ( Bookforum )

9. On Animals by Susan Orlean (Avid Reader Press)

11 Rave • 6 Positive • 1 Mixed Listen to an interview with Susan Orlean here

“I very much enjoyed Orlean’s perspective in these original, perceptive, and clever essays showcasing the sometimes strange, sometimes sick, sometimes tender relationships between people and animals … whether Orlean is writing about one couple’s quest to find their lost dog, the lives of working donkeys of the Fez medina in Morocco, or a man who rescues lions (and happily allows even full grown males to gently chew his head), her pages are crammed with quirky characters, telling details, and flabbergasting facts … Readers will find these pages full of astonishments … Orlean excels as a reporter…Such thorough reporting made me long for updates on some of these stories … But even this criticism only testifies to the delight of each of the urbane and vivid stories in this collection. Even though Orlean claims the animals she writes about remain enigmas, she makes us care about their fates. Readers will continue to think about these dogs and donkeys, tigers and lions, chickens and pigeons long after we close the book’s covers. I hope most of them are still well.”

–Sy Montgomery ( The Boston Globe )

10. Graceland, at Last: Notes on Hope and Heartache from the American South  by Margaret Renkl (Milkweed Editions)

9 Rave • 5 Positive Read Margaret Renkl on finding ideas everywhere, here

“Renkl’s sense of joyful belonging to the South, a region too often dismissed on both coasts in crude stereotypes and bad jokes, co-exists with her intense desire for Southerners who face prejudice or poverty finally to be embraced and supported … Renkl at her most tender and most fierce … Renkl’s gift, just as it was in her first book Late Migrations , is to make fascinating for others what is closest to her heart … Any initial sense of emotional whiplash faded as as I proceeded across the six sections and realized that the book is largely organized around one concept, that of fair and loving treatment for all—regardless of race, class, sex, gender or species … What rises in me after reading her essays is Lewis’ famous urging to get in good trouble to make the world fairer and better. Many people in the South are doing just that—and through her beautiful writing, Renkl is among them.”

–Barbara J. King ( NPR )

Our System:

RAVE = 5 points • POSITIVE = 3 points • MIXED = 1 point • PAN = -5 points

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What Is Contemporary Literature?

Contemporary literature is a vast group of written works produced from a specific time in history through the current age. This literary era defines a time period, but it also describes a particular style and quality of writing. Some see this period as an extension of postmodern literature, but most refer to it as a literary era of its own.

Most agree that the era of contemporary writing began in the 1940s. A few scholars claim this period started at the end of World War II, and this is where the era’s pairing with postmodern literature comes in. The postmodern era began after WWII, in the 1940s, and lasted through the 1960s. The contemporary period extends to the current day.

Although there are a few disagreements about the beginning of this literary period, the biggest dispute surrounds what qualifies a written work as literature. The word refers to both poetry and prose, where prose includes works of fiction such as novels and novellas, essays, and dramatic works. This term also refers to the quality of writing. In order to be considered literature, a written work must uphold the highest writing standards and contain a particular beauty and style. Many literary works become socially relevant and have the power to influence the public.

Much of contemporary literature comes from Western authors; however, the term is not synonymous with English or American literature, and this literary period can apply to written works from anywhere in the world. In fact, globalization opened the door to include contemporary works written by many literary figures in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

Genres included in this literary period span a variety of writing forms in addition to novels and poetry. Flash fiction, short stories, slam poetry, plays, memoirs, and autobiographies can all be included in this category. Nonfiction is usually not classified as literature, but this era sometimes includes works of creative nonfiction, which tell a true story using literary techniques.

Typical characteristics of the contemporary period include reality-based stories with strong characters and a believable story. Settings usually keep to the current or modern era, so futuristic and science fiction novels are rarely included in this category. Well-defined, realistic, and highly developed characters are important in classifying a written work as contemporary, and most writing in this category features stories that are more character driven than plot driven.

Contemporary literature features a somewhat modern narrative, but it also contains a harsher reality. Contemporary written works tend to be influenced by the prosperous lifestyle that followed WWII, but this literary class is rooted in the devastation that war brought to the world. A new reality blossomed in the post-war mind, and it included a personal cynicism, disillusionment, and frustration that is common to this literary period.

Margaret Lipman

Drawing on her experience as a middle and high school teacher, Margaret Lipman strives to provide valuable insights for students when writing about scholarships and college application strategies in her articles for Scholarship Institute.

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Contemporary Literature. Elements of Short Stories Essay (Critical Writing)

Introduction.

There are several characteristics that make up a good story. One of the most important elements of a short story specifically is a fully developed protagonist who can be seen to develop through the course of the story. Development of the protagonist developed enough for us to care about is essential if the reader is to have any reason for completing the story, but this development doesn’t necessarily have to be positive, nor does it need to be confined to the protagonist alone.

Despite the relatively short space in which these writers work, they are nevertheless able to create characters with sufficient depth to convey a particular theme. In the short stories “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce, the characters are seen to be strangled by society finally finding release by mentally detaching from reality.

Comparison of stories “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”

In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the protagonist is never given a name, and her development is negative as she sinks into insanity as the story progresses. The entire story takes place within a single, yellow room on the upper floor of a Victorian country house. The woman recognizes something is wrong at the beginning of the story as she disagrees with the diagnosis of her husband and her doctor regarding her treatment for depression.

The two men determine she should be given plenty of rest and isolation as the best treatment. “Personally, I disagree with their ideas. Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good. But what is one to do?” Through the course of the story, the woman transforms from an individual who adores the outside and green growing things to becoming lost in the artificial world created by man as she obsesses over the grotesque pattern in the wallpaper of her room. “Sometimes I think there are a great many women behind. And she is all the time trying to climb through. But nobody could climb through that pattern – it strangles so; I think that is why it has so many heads” (Gilman, 1899).

Because she, like the women she imagines trapped within the wallpaper, cannot escape from the confining space in which she has been housed, the woman becomes completely insane, creeping around the walls after peeling the wallpaper off as high as she can reach in an attempt to find a way in to them. At the end, she even creeps over her husband, who has fainted against the wall, in order to continue her progress unimpeded. She no longer recognizes that there is something wrong with her actions.

The protagonist in Bierce’s story also suffers negative development as he lives through the final moments before he is hanged to death. This man is literally being strangled by society as the board beneath him drops and he falls to dangle under the bridge by the rope around his neck. “he was awakened … by the pain of a sharp pressure upon his throat, followed by a sense of suffocation” (Bierce, 5).

At this sense of suffocation, Peyton finds himself shifting into an alternate reality that only becomes clear in the end. During the moments it takes for him to actually die in the hangman’s noose, the character experiences an entire daring escape sequence based upon the only possible means of escape left available to him – the possibility that the rope might break and he could use the river to escape. Despite the fact that he is actually dying, part of his perception is related. “He was now in full possession of his physical senses. They were, indeed, preternaturally keen and alert. … He felt the ripples upon his face and heard their separate sounds as they struck” (6) while he believed himself in the river that he never actually touched.

The female protagonist in “Yellow Wallpaper” eventually determines that if she can’t free herself, she must find some means of joining the women within the wallpaper. By contrast, Peyton, discovering that he is finally and irrevocably unable to escape his present circumstances, is able to detach his mind enough to mentally live through a daring and nearly impossible escape before he dies. In both stories, the protagonist escapes their situation through the powers of their minds; however, they approach this ‘solution’ with different aims in mind – one to escape and the other to entrench.

Works Cited

Bierce, Ambrose. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. Web.

Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wallpaper. Boston: Small & Maynard, 1899.

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About Contemporary Literature

Contemporary Literature  publishes scholarly essays on contemporary writing in English, interviews with established and emerging authors, and reviews of recent critical books in the field. The journal welcomes articles on multiple genres, including poetry, the novel, drama, creative nonfiction, new media and digital literature, and graphic narrative.  Contemporary Literature  published the first articles on Thomas Pynchon and Susan Howe and the first interviews with Margaret Drabble and Don DeLillo; it also helped to introduce Kazuo Ishiguro, Eavan Boland, and J. M. Coetzee to American readers. As a forum for discussing issues animating the range of contemporary literary studies,  Contemporary Literature  features the full diversity of critical practices. The editors seek articles that frame their analysis of texts within larger literary historical, theoretical, or cultural debates.

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What is contemporary literature?

The written word that is now in use is referred to as contemporary literature. It perfectly encapsulates today’s spirit, complete with all of its complexities, contradictions, and uncertainties. It covers a wide range of genres, including anything from novels to poetry, short stories to essays.

Contemporary literature reflects the concerns and issues that are relevant to contemporary society. It explores themes such as identity, race, gender, class, politics, and technology. It often challenges conventional norms and values, pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable and what is not. It invites readers to question their assumptions and biases, and to confront the uncomfortable truths of our world

Contemporary literature is not only a reflection of our times, but it also shapes our understanding of them. It helps us make sense of the complexities of our world, and to see it in new and different ways. It provides us with a window into other people’s lives, cultures, and experiences, fostering empathy and understanding.

In short, contemporary literature is a vital part of our cultural landscape. It helps us understand ourselves and the world we live in, and it invites us to imagine new possibilities for the future.

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Types of contemporary literature

Contemporary literature is a broad term that encompasses various genres and styles of writing. Here are some of the types of contemporary literature:

• Literary Fiction : This type of contemporary literature focuses on character development and exploring complex themes and issues.
• Young Adult (YA) Fiction : YA literature is targeted towards teenagers and explores themes that are relevant to their age group, such as identity, relationships, and coming of age.
• Science Fiction and Fantasy : This type of contemporary literature is set in imaginary worlds or alternate realities and often deals with futuristic technology, magic, or supernatural beings.
• Romance: Romance novels are focused on love and relationships and often have happy endings.
• Mystery and Thriller: These types of contemporary literature typically involve a crime or mystery that the protagonist must solve, often with high stakes and suspenseful plot twists.
• Memoirs and Autobiographies: These types of contemporary literature are based on the author’s personal experiences and reflect on their life story and perspective.
• Poetry: Contemporary poetry covers a wide range of themes and styles, from free verse to traditional forms, and often explores emotions and human experience in a concise and evocative way.
• Graphic Novels and Comics: These types of contemporary literature use a combination of words and illustrations to tell a story, often tackling complex themes and social issues in a visually engaging way.

Famous authors of contemporary literature

• J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series
• Stephen King – The Shining, IT, The Stand
• Margaret Atwood – The Handmaid’s Tale, Alias Grace

Without Hesitation by S K Sharma

• Haruki Murakami – Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore

J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series is considered contemporary literature due to its relevance to modern times and its popularity among modern readers. The series has become a cultural phenomenon and has gained a massive following among people of all ages, making it a significant part of contemporary pop culture.

One of the reasons the series has become so popular is its relatable themes and characters, which resonate with readers of all ages. The series explores complex themes like identity, friendship, love, loss, and the battle between good and evil, which are still relevant today.

Moreover, the series is an example of how contemporary literature can tackle social issues, such as discrimination and prejudice, in a compelling and engaging way. Through the portrayal of the struggles of characters like Hermione, who faces discrimination due to her Muggle-born status, and Hagrid, who is stigmatised for being half-giant, the series highlights the importance of acceptance and inclusivity.

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J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, Famous Author of Contemporary Literature.

Stephen King - The Shining, IT, The Stand

Stephen King is a prominent author of contemporary literature, and his works, such as “The Shining,” “IT,” and “The Stand,” have achieved cult status among modern readers. King’s writing is characterised by his unique ability to merge elements of horror, suspense, and the supernatural into a captivating narrative.

One of the factors that make Stephen King’s works contemporary literature is his style of storytelling, which incorporates modern themes and issues that resonate with contemporary readers. His novels often explore complex human emotions and psychology, as well as societal issues such as the impact of technology and the dangers of political extremism.

Moreover, King’s works are characterised by their rich character development and immersive world-building, which transport readers into a world that is both familiar and unsettling. His stories are not only entertaining but also thought-provoking, making them relevant to modern readers seeking meaningful experiences in literature.

Stephen King - The Shining, IT, The Stand, Famous Author of Contemporary Literature.

Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale, Alias Grace

Margaret Atwood’s novels, including “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Alias Grace,” are considered contemporary literature due to their relevance to modern society and the issues they address. Atwood’s works often explore themes such as gender, politics, power dynamics, and the impact of technology on society.

For example, “The Handmaid’s Tale” is a dystopian novel that examines the oppression of women in a patriarchal society. Atwood portrays a world where women are stripped of their rights and forced into roles as child bearers and servants for men. The novel highlights the dangers of authoritarianism and the importance of individual freedom.

Similarly, “Alias Grace” delves into the issues of gender and power in a historical context, exploring the life of a woman accused of murder in 19th century Canada. Atwood’s novel sheds light on the social constraints and limitations faced by women in the past and how they struggled to assert themselves in a male-dominated society.

Margaret Atwood’s contemporary literature provides a thought-provoking exploration of the human experience and its complexities, making it relevant to modern readers seeking to understand and confront the challenges of our time.

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Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale, Alias Grace​, Famous Author of Contemporary Literature.

A plethora of issues in Bharatvarsha (India) necessitate precise answers in the middle of a complex setting. The quest of truth and service to society, on the other hand, is hampered by visible and unseen individuals who influence power dynamics. Biases and self-interest impede growth even more.

These problems are created not by a chosen few, but by a plethora of individuals who influence the destiny of the nation. Politicians, bureaucrats, and corporate entities wield considerable power, while unseen individuals operate behind the scenes, concealing their motivations in secrecy. To uncover these self-interests, an unbiased method free of preconceived preconceptions is required.

Creating solutions necessitates surgical precision, as well as an understanding of the interplay of power, society, and individual motives. It is critical to expose the deceptive techniques hidden behind the mask of nationalism. Transparency, accountability, and a well-informed citizenry are essential.

Without Hesitation by S K Sharma, Famous Author of Contemporary Literature.

Haruki Murakami - Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore

Haruki Murakami is a Japanese author whose works have gained global recognition as contemporary literature. What makes his novels stand out is the way he blends elements of the surreal with everyday experiences. His writing style is unique and introspective, often exploring themes of alienation, love, and loss.

In “Norwegian Wood,” Murakami explores the struggles of young adulthood and the challenges of finding oneself in a changing world. The story follows Toru Watanabe as he navigates the complexities of relationships, loss, and self-discovery. Murakami’s writing is introspective and thoughtful, delving into the psyche of his characters and their emotional landscapes.

In “Kafka on the Shore,” Murakami takes readers on a surreal journey through the minds of his characters. The story follows the adventures of Kafka Tamura, a teenage boy on a quest to uncover the truth about his past, and Nakata, an elderly man with an unusual gift for talking to cats. The novel explores themes of identity, fate, and the nature of reality, and Murakami’s vivid imagination and skillful storytelling create a world that is both fascinating and thought-provoking.

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Haruki Murakami - Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore ​, Famous Author of Contemporary Literature.

What is modern literature?

Modern literature refers to literary works that were produced during the late 19th and early 20th century, primarily in Europe and North America. This period was characterised by significant cultural and social changes that led to new artistic movements and experimentation with literary styles and themes.

Modern literature is marked by its focus on the individual, the exploration of the inner self, and the depiction of complex psychological states. Many modern authors were interested in breaking away from traditional forms of storytelling and experimenting with different narrative techniques, such as stream of consciousness and multiple perspectives.

Moreover, modern literature reflects the changing attitudes and values of society at the time. Many authors were interested in social and political issues, such as gender and class inequality, and incorporated them into their works. This gave rise to new genres, such as the modernist novel and the social problem novel.

It is characterised by its experimental and innovative nature, its focus on the inner self and individual experiences, and its engagement with social and political issues of the time. It paved the way for contemporary literature, which continues to push boundaries and explore new forms of storytelling.

Examples of modern literature

• “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald Firstly, the novel was published in 1925, which is considered the modern era in literary history. It was a time when writers were experimenting with new narrative techniques and exploring new themes, which is evident in “The Great Gatsby.” Secondly, the novel portrays the changing social and cultural landscape of America during the early 20th century. It reflects the excesses and decadence of the Roaring Twenties, which was a time of great economic prosperity and social upheaval. Thirdly, the novel is written in a modernist style, with its fragmented narrative structure and use of symbolism and metaphor to convey its themes. Fitzgerald’s use of first-person narration by the character of Nick Carraway, who is an observer and participant in the events of the story, also reflects modernist literary techniques. Finally, “The Great Gatsby” is a timeless exploration of universal themes like love, wealth, power, and the American Dream. It speaks to readers of all generations, making it a classic of modern literature.
• “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy is modern literature because of its unique narrative style, themes, and subject matter. Firstly, the novel’s narrative style is experimental and non-traditional, with sparse punctuation and fragmented sentences. This technique emphasises the bleak and barren nature of the post-apocalyptic world that the characters inhabit. The style is also reflective of the characters’ emotional states, as they struggle to survive in a world that has been destroyed. Secondly, the novel tackles themes that are relevant to modern society, such as survival, love, and morality. The post-apocalyptic world depicted in the novel forces the characters to confront these themes in a raw and unfiltered way. The novel also explores the relationship between a father and son, and how it is tested in the face of extreme adversity. Lastly, the subject matter of the novel is both disturbing and thought-provoking. The novel explores the consequences of a catastrophic event and the lengths that people will go to survive. The bleak and barren landscape of the novel is a warning of what could happen if we continue down a path of destruction and disregard for the environment.
• “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison is a modern literature novel for several reasons. First, it was published in 1952, which falls within the time period of modern literature. Second, the novel deals with issues that were particularly relevant during the modernist period, such as race relations and the concept of individual identity. The novel tells the story of an unnamed African-American man who feels invisible to society due to his race. He experiences a number of challenges as he tries to navigate a society that is hostile towards him, including being expelled from college and being subjected to racist treatment by white people. Through the protagonist’s experiences, the novel explores the complexities of racial identity and the struggle for self-acceptance in a society that devalues blackness. Furthermore, the novel’s style and structure are also characteristic of modern literature. The novel is written in a nonlinear style, with a fragmented narrative that jumps between different points in time. This reflects the modernist tendency to experiment with form and structure, and to reject traditional narrative conventions.

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Difference between modern and contemporary literature:

The terms “modern” and “contemporary” are often used interchangeably when discussing literature, but they actually have different meanings.

The terms “modern literature” and “contemporary literature” refer to two distinct literary genres that are frequently used interchangeably. In terms of historical period, subjects, and writing style, they differ significantly.

Literature from the late 19th to the middle of the 20th century is referred to as modern literature. This time frame encompasses the modernist movement, which was distinguished by a rejection of conventional structures and a stress on subjectivity, individualism, and literary experimentation. The social, cultural, and political developments of the day were reflected in modernist literature, which frequently examined the inner workings of the human brain.

Contemporary literature, on the other hand, refers to works of literature that are written in the present time or recent past. Contemporary literature is often characterised by a focus on current social, cultural, and political issues, as well as a diverse range of voices and perspectives. It includes a variety of genres and styles, from literary fiction to popular fiction, and often deals with issues such as globalisation, technology, identity, and diversity.

While modern literature and contemporary literature differ in terms of time period and themes, they also have different writing styles. Modern literature is often characterised by a more formal and experimental writing style, with a focus on techniques such as stream-of-consciousness narration and fragmentation of plot and character. In contrast, contemporary literature tends to be more accessible and relatable, with a focus on character development and storytelling.

Trends in Literature

Contemporary literature is a dynamic and constantly evolving field, with new trends and themes emerging all the time. Here are a few current trends in contemporary literature:

• Realism : A literary trend that emerged in the 19th century, realism focused on depicting everyday life and experiences in a realistic and honest way. Realist authors often used detailed descriptions and dialogue to create a sense of authenticity in their works.
• Modernism : A literary trend that emerged in the early 20th century, modernism was characterised by experimentation with form and style. Modernist writers often used stream-of-consciousness narration, fragmentation, and other innovative techniques to convey the subjective experience of their characters.
• Postmodernism : A literary trend that emerged in the mid-20th century, postmodernism was marked by a rejection of traditional narrative structures and a focus on themes of fragmentation, deconstruction, and intertextuality. Postmodernist writers often used irony, parody, and self-referentiality to challenge the reader’s assumptions and expectations.
• Magical realism : A literary trend that emerged in Latin America in the mid-20th century, magical realism blends realistic and fantastical elements to create a dreamlike or surreal atmosphere. Magical realist writers often use magical or mythical elements to comment on real-world issues.
• Social justice literature : A contemporary literary trend that focuses on issues of social justice, equity, and human rights. Social justice literature often deals with issues such as racism, sexism, homophobia, and poverty, and may be used to raise awareness, provoke social change, or promote activism.
• Diversity and Inclusion : One of the most significant trends in contemporary literature is the emphasis on diversity and inclusion. Many contemporary authors are actively working to include diverse characters and perspectives in their work, highlighting the experiences of underrepresented groups and challenging traditional literary norms. For example, Angie Thomas’ “The Hate U Give” and Tommy Orange’s “There There” are both powerful examples of contemporary literature that explore the experiences of marginalised communities.
• Environmentalism : As the world faces increasing environmental challenges, many contemporary authors are exploring the relationship between humans and the natural world. From Margaret Atwood’s “MaddAddam” trilogy to Jeff Vandermeer’s “Annihilation,” contemporary literature is filled with stories that imagine the consequences of environmental disaster and humanity’s potential for environmental stewardship.
• Magic Realism : A genre that has gained significant popularity in recent years is magic realism. This style combines elements of the fantastic with realistic depictions of everyday life, creating a surreal and dreamlike world. Examples of magic realism in contemporary literature include Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude” and Haruki Murakami’s “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.”
• Social Commentary : Many contemporary authors use their work as a vehicle for social commentary, exploring the pressing issues of our time and challenging readers to consider their own roles in shaping society. For example, Colson Whitehead’s “The Underground Railroad” uses the story of a runaway slave to explore the ongoing legacy of slavery in America.
• Genre-Bending : Finally, one trend that is becoming increasingly popular in contemporary literature is genre-bending. Authors are pushing the boundaries of traditional genre categories, blending elements of different genres to create entirely new forms of storytelling. A great example of this is Marlon James’ “Black Leopard, Red Wolf,” which combines elements of African mythology with classic fantasy storytelling.

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• Diversity and representation : Contemporary literature has increasingly focused on diverse representation of characters, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and experiences of readers. This includes stories featuring characters from underrepresented communities, such as LGBTQ+ characters, characters of colour, and characters with disabilities.
• Magical realism : A genre that blends the fantastical with the mundane, magical realism has become a popular trend in contemporary literature. This style of writing often features surreal or dreamlike elements within a realistic setting, blurring the line between fantasy and reality.
• Memoirs and personal essays : Nonfiction has become increasingly popular in contemporary literature, with memoirs and personal essays often topping bestseller lists. These stories offer a glimpse into the lives and experiences of individuals, often exploring themes of identity, family, and relationships.
• Environmental themes : With the growing concern over climate change and the environment, contemporary literature has begun to address these issues. Many recent novels explore the impact of humans on the natural world, as well as the potential consequences of inaction.
• Genre blending : Contemporary literature often blurs the lines between different genres, creating unique and unconventional stories. For example, a novel might combine elements of science fiction, mystery, and romance, resulting in a story that defies categorization.

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The Study of Contemporary Literature

Essay by riya.a.anil   •  May 27, 2019  •  Essay  •  252 Words (2 Pages)  •  815 Views

Essay Preview: The Study of Contemporary Literature

The study of contemporary literature indulges the modern audience to consider aspects of existing culture and components of humanity, thus in turn revealing timeless matters such as the co-existence of good and evil and the importance of moral education. These enduring concerns are explored in Harper Lee’s novel, “To Kill A Mockingbird”. Written during The Great Depression, Lee considers a reflection of classical problems of the American society. The milieu of Lee’s world suffered from issues that are still prominent in today’s world, such as racism, prejudice, segregation

The fundamental identity of the moral nature of human beings is a universal thought that is explored by Lee. The question of whether people are essentially good or essentially evil is a “something” question that transcends through time. This question is addressed by Lee by dramatizing the transition from a perspective of childhood innocence in which there is assumption of eternally good people as one does not see evil, to a more adolescent perspective in which one confronts evil and must incorporate it into their understanding of the modern world. This is embodied by Atticus Finch who serves as the moral voice who allows the audience to understand the complexity o f the mortal being of which is a combination of both good and bad. This is reinforced as Lee sates “Rather you shoot a tin can in the backyard…” Atticus’ directive serves as a metaphor where in which she contrasts the nuisance of the blue jays to the innocence of the mockingbirds.

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9 Contemporary Mexican Women Writers to Read Now

This reading list spotlights books by nine Mexican women writers who are shaping the literary scene in Mexico and beyond. These novels, works of nonfiction, and short story collections were all translated into English by women, and each denounces and resists various forms of violence in its own distinct way.

1. Reservoir Bitches by Dahlia de la Cerda, translated by Heather Cleary and Julia Sanches Feminist Press, September 2024

In this linked story collection, Dahlia de la Cerda gives voice to a range of characters, from a renowned witch who offers her services on Facebook to the mighty heiress of a cartel leader. Unabashed and defiant, these women share their stories, wielding whatever tools life has given them to not only survive but also to seek their own form of vengeance.

2. This Mouth Is Mine by Yásnaya Elena Aguilar Gil , translated by Ellen Jones Charco Press, September 2024

Linguist Yásnaya Elena Aguilar Gil, a native speaker of Mixe, denounces Mexico’s hypocritical relationship with its many Indigenous languages. With both humor and a critical edge, Aguilar addresses the consequences of the neglect, disrespect, and disregard the speakers and communities of these languages face, even as they are ostensibly celebrated as a national treasure.  

3. In vitro: On Longing And Transformation by Isabel Zapata , translated by Robin Myers Coffee House Press, May 2024

In this book-length essay, Isabel Zapata explores the strangeness and intricacies of conception and motherhood through the lens of in vitro fertilization. In addressing the grief, misogyny, and discomfort that often accompany these processes, Zapata creates a space for more nuanced discussions about maternity.

4. Fury by Clyo Mendoza, translated by Christina MacSweeney Seven Stories Press, March 2024

The stories of soldiers Lázaro and Juan, who become lovers while fleeing war; Vicente Barrera, a salesman with a dark past; and Salvador, a morgue worker who hallucinates in the desert, are intertwined in the lyrical intensity of Fury . Through these narratives, Mendoza delves into the intense passions and existential struggles of her characters, creating a haunting and unforgettable exploration of eroticism and despair.

5. The Sadness of Shadows by Lola Ancira, translated by Juana Adcock MTO Press, March 2024

Set in two infamous Mexican institutions, La Castañeda psychiatric hospital and the prison known as “The Palace of Lecumberri,” Lola Ancira’s short story collection centers on those who live on the margins, plagued by longing, madness, anguish, and grief. Her characters resist by embracing abandonment, enduring despair, and holding on to the memory of what they once possessed.

6. The Book of Eve by Carmen Boullosa , translated by Samantha Schnee Deep Vellum, May 2023

In this feminist novel, we experience the tale of Genesis through Eve’s eyes. She refutes the stories we have grown up with and gives her own version, redefining our perception of the world through the previously unheard voice of one of the most important female characters in Western culture.

7. Cross-Stitch by Jazmina Barrera , translated by Christina MacSweeney Two Lines Press, November 2023

In this coming-of-age story, Jazmina Barrera uses embroidery as a central motif to delve into themes of depression, youth, and travel. The novel traces the intricate friendship of Mila, Citlali, and Dalia, three childhood friends who navigate their teenage years together and drift apart in adulthood—until an unexpected tragedy brings their friendship back into relief. 

8. The Visible Unseen by Andrea Chapela, translated by Kelsi Vanada Restless Books, October 2022

In this collection of experimental essays, Andrea Chapela, a chemist and author, questions scientific observations—and seeks to better understand herself—by reflecting on the properties of mirrors, glass, and light.

9. Empty Houses by Brenda Navarro, translated by Sophie Hughes Daunt Book Publishing, February 2021

Empty Houses offers an intimate and complex portrayal of both a mother grappling with the disappearance of her child and the woman who has taken the child as her own. Navarro’s first book to appear in English, Empty Houses probes the social pressures, desires, and regrets that accompany motherhood in contemporary Mexico.

Copyright © 2024 by Lia Galván Lisker. All rights reserved.

Lia Galván Lisker

Lia Galván Lisker is an emerging translator from Mexico City.

Your 2024 International Women’s Day Reading List

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