Saturday, October 22, 2016

''Cli-fi should definitely be harrowing, but it's troubling to see so much anxiety channeled into visions of isolation instead of teamwork.'' -- Amy Brady Tweets: ''Has anyone else noticed how the majority of recent cli-fi novels/story collections focus as much on themes of isolation as problem solving?''

Photo by Yann Quero, titled "The Madonna of Global Warming"
UDPATED SEE BELOW COMMENTS:
 
Amy Brady ‏tweets at @ingredient_x

''Cli-fi should definitely be harrowing, but it's troubling to see so much anxiety channeled into visions of isolation instead of teamwork.''

She adds: ''Has anyone else noticed how the majority of recent cli-fi novels/story collections focus as much on themes of isolation as problem solving?''

GOOD QUESTIONS!
 
COMMENTS BELOW. DO COMMENT!

NOTE: She is managing editor at @indianolareview. And has bylines in @lithub, @villagevoice, @the_rumpus, @awl, @the_millions, @mcsweeneys. @LAReviewofBooks and is a NBCC member.

 [And tweets from New York.]

=============== UPDATE===========

After Amy Brady aka A.L. Brady tweeted yesterday at
@ingredient_x and asked re
:
''Has anyone else noticed how the majority of recent cli-fi novels/story collections focus as much on themes of isolation as problem solving?''

TED HOWELL replied in tweet back to her and to his followers:
...
Ted Howell @tedwardhowell
''all the more reason we need a utopian cli-fi, in addition to one marked by mourning, loss, and/or dystopian warnings.''


Film critic and professor Michael Svoboda said: ''That certainly seems to be the case for the films, albeit to a lesser degree. "

Ted Howell told me via email: ''
'' Hi Dan -- Yes, this is a really interesting point that Amy Brady makes and one that I think is really on to something. I wasn't following Brady on Twitter, but I am now -- thanks for sending her tweet my way!''
Ted

Philip Judge, a British man in Colorado, a cli-fi-sci author of a trilogy on Amazon, wrote: "It seems my trilogy of hope and collaboration in the face of climate change might not fit with the "majority" of writings in this genre. Perhaps humor is also not common here too?
 

Dan Bloom replied to Dr Judge: Good points, Philip. And yes, hope and collab ar important themes too, for sure, and humor, too. I am with you on this. We need all kinds of themes to tackle this huge problem, and the more the better. A.L. Brady tweeted this today and I chanced upon her two questions and send this blog link back to her. I liked her questions. I hope she will write more on this. -- dan
 

Jean-Louis Trudel sci fi cli fi writer in Canada said: "I think it has to do in part with the way fiction writing is defined in the Anglophone world as centering on a protagonist struggling with a critical problem.'

2 comments:

DANIELBLOOM said...


After Amy Brady aka A.L. Brady tweeted yesterday at
@ingredient_x and asked re http://northwardho.blogspot.tw/…/cli-fi-should-definitely-b…
:
''Has anyone else noticed how the majority of recent cli-fi novels/story collections focus as much on themes of isolation as problem solving?'' TED HOWELL replied in tweet back to her and to his followers:

Ted Howell @tedwardhowell

''all the more reason we need a utopian cli-fi, in addition to one marked by mourning, loss, and/or dystopian warnings.''

Ximin Liu in Taipei replied: ''Dear Dan,

Thanks for all the forwarded news items, short writings and especially the YouTube links for Amitav Ghosh's lectures at Chicago. I lost no time in forwarding them to the Monthly Reading Group at Moscow, IDAHO of which Scott and I are regular members. Scott quickly responded while on route in his flight from Paris back to Moscow. Erin James, the de facto leader of the group replied too, saying she's tempted to teach a graduate course on "Cli-fi" next fall. So please consider the Moscow group as one active branch of your worldwide network. Thanks again.''

Film critic and professor Michael Svoboda said: ''That certainly seems to be the case for the films, albeit to a lesser degree. "

Ted Howell told me: ''

'' Hi Dan -- Yes, this is a really interesting point that Amy Brady makes and one that I think is really on to something. I wasn't following Brady on Twitter, but I am now -- thanks for sending her tweet my way!''

Ted

DANIELBLOOM said...

and.....Philip Judge, a British man in Colorado, a cli-fi-sci author of a trilogy on Amazon, wrote: "It seems my trilogy of hope and collaboration in the face of climate change might not fit with the "majority" of writings in this genre. Perhaps humor is also not common here too?






Dan Bloom



Remove



Dan Bloom replied to Dr Judge: Good points, Philip. And yes, hope and collab ar important themes too, for sure, and humor, too. I am with you on this. We need all kinds of themes to tackle this huge problem, and the more the better. A.L. Brady tweeted this today and I chanced upon her two questions and send this blog link back to her. I liked her questions. I hope she will write more on this. -- dan






Jean-Louis Trudel



Remove



Jean-Louis Trudel sci fi cli fi writer in Canada said: "I think it has to do in part with the way fiction writing is defined in the Anglophone world as centering on a protagonist struggling with a critical problem.'