Am I a Surrealist?
A while back I posted the question “Am I a Commie?” not to create a yes/no scenario, but rather to propel a journey of self-discovery (magical, of course). That’s where the title above originates.
I’ve been reading a bit today on some of the “experimental” genres of fiction writing thanks to discovering a small group of publishers (with such awesome names as Eraserhead Press, Afterbirth Books, and Raw Dog Screaming Press). And while I feel like things on the classification front are moving, the details of these sub-sub-genres are more confusing than anything.
Some of it does make sense to me. For example, Carlton Mellick III posts that with classical surrealism, using the practice of automatic writing, we’re left with a product that resembles a dream. Written words mirror the subconscious. That is, I write every word that pops up in my head as it pops up. I had a writing course in high school that did this exactly (you probably did, too!). We were given 30 minutes or so to write something — without thinking about the rules of writing. And I loved it.
In fact, this is where it all started. This is where I wrote my first anything (outside of earlier efforts to use a similar thought process to create bad poetry and bad rock-song lyrics). I found it very easy to lose myself in the process, and reading back what I had written was enjoyably strange because I didn’t understand where any of it came from. (I think I’ve saved those old journals, but they’re with my dad. I should track them down.) It’s similar to how I write today (though I like to think I’ve evolved and refined the process substantially), and probably explains why I later fell in love with filmmakers like David Lynch and, specifically, the Salvador Dali/Luis Buñuel movie Un chien andalou.
But then Mellick dives into other classifications (like Irrealism and Bizarro) and that’s where he loses me. The stuff is hard to explain, so I’m not blaming him. And a lot of it strikes me as saying that this writing is like that writing, which is where that other writing over there comes from. If you don’t have a starting point, comparative language isn’t helpful. Finding free, on-line versions of their cited sources has been a little tricky, too; of course, I don’t want to buy a few dozen bad stories because I hope there might be some helpful connection in one of them, but I may, after a little more research, go in that direction.
All in all, at this point, I think figuring out some of these basics might be besides the point. I feel like finding this group has been the first step. They’ve been there and understand this. It gives me a point to jump from and figure this stuff out. I’ve been digging through their suggested resources. Once I finish that off, I’ll try posting at their forum to see what I can learn.
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Bizarro and irrealism are actually easier to explain than surrealism.
Irrealism is fiction is where the laws of reality are shattered. A woman could marry the color purple. A man could pull a piano out of his shirt pocket.
Bizarro is just the genre of the weird. If people want to read something that has a plot that’s weirder than the majority of the stuff out there, then bizarro fiction is for them. It is also like literature’s equivalent to cult movies.
1Hey, Bob, I saw the movie “Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind”. I can def. see why you like Kaufman. Top notch.
2Mr. Mellick (or CM3, as you prefer)!
I didn’t mean to invoke you to this lonely corner of the internet, but I greatly appreciate you swinging by and taking a moment to elaborate. A couple easy examples does make it all click a little more.
And, reading your comments, I’d say that my stuff probably more closely approximates to bizarro than irrealism, in my mind anyway. I think my stories are a little weird (talking bunnies standing on miniature, non-moving tidal waves) but they still make sense within the realms of reality. More or less. I don’t remember the color purple ever doing anything to anyone in any of them.
I saw a link for a couple “starter kits” at the Bizarro Central site, and you’re printed in the orange edition. It all strikes me as some kind of sign telling me to go get the starter kit(s). I think I’ll do just that.
3You’ll get no disagreement from me or Candice on that one. But delve further into his work and the road splits. I think you would at least partially enjoy Being John Malkovich if you liked Eternal Sunshine. And Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is less weird/more mainstream (with a paranoia filter), so you might get into that one, too. Adaptation and Synecdoche are probably high risk territory.
4I found a stash of online, bizarro short stories by Jeremy C. Shipp:
http://www.jeremycshipp.com/
He has 8 stories available (the second news item) at the moment. I just read one and enjoyed it. Plan to read the rest tonight and tomorrow.
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