m a g i c a l r e a l i s m s u r v e y
5. Do you think it would be useful to have a magical realism shelf at your local bookstore, library, and/or movie rental store?ANONYMOUS, publisher/editor, London, England
ANONYMOUS, retired journalist/translator/researcher/film production, FranceNo.
ANONYMOUS, retired dentist/medical educator, Newport, RII'm not sure what modern magical realism means to you. Or to me, for that matter. The heading of my website should be Magic Reality and I'm going to change it. I don't pretend to belong under any genre.If it aims at inducing people to shake off their incuriosity and their deserved boredom and intuit the potentialities that can alter their perception of the 'real world,' then YES: every library should have several soul-saving shelves dedicated to MODERN MAGICAL REALISM!
There's a story on my website called 'A Daydream Breaks Away.' It exemplifies my idea of a magic reality.
Best regards to the staff at Margin and happy new year!
CAROLYN BEASLEY, writer/creative writing teacher, Victoria, AustraliaAbsolutely not. Though it is interesting to explore this aspect of literature, it serves little purpose to pursue it as a unique, new and exciting category, capable of being seen as a distinct division of literature in general. Pardon my jaundiced view, but to me, this smacks of the ever-growing trend toward specialization in the humanities, often, though not always, promoted by those tempted to belong to an "inner-circle" of experts. Magical realism should be interesting, exciting, even fun, to explore, but there's no need to make a specialty of it.Many thanks for establishing this resource, and for asking for our opinions!
carolynmareebeasley@excite.com
PAT BERGERON, dreamer/explorer/research secretary, Ann Arbor, MINot really because so many films and books can have magical realism elements to them without being considered magical realism. Cross pollination of genres is so common that we often barely notice it. Would we shelve Joanne Harris's Blackberry Wine or Chocolat in the magical realism section because they have mystical elements or supernatural happenings, even though these happenings are not central to the story but merely used to develop the atmosphere and characters? Toni Morrison's Beloved because it is a story of how grief can spiritually manifest if not resolved? In terms of film, Amelie could fit comfortably in romance, comedy or arthouse/magical realism. Allie McBeal used the techniques of visual hallucination in the same way Amelie did. Does this mean Allie McBeal qualifies as magical realism?
pcarolb@umich.edu
CHRIS DOERFLER, attorney/wannabe screenwriter, Phoenix, AZSURE!!!
cadoerfler@cox.netLOUIS GALLO, professor of English, Radford University, Radford, VAThat would invite teenagers working summers at Blockbuster to decide what MR is. Since I have a tough time coming up with a solid definition (best effort to date: “being nonplussed by weird shit”), I’m not sure this very good idea would work. That aside, I’d love for it to be easier to find good MR.
LAURA HORSLEY, high-school teacher, Houston, TXSuch a shelf useful? I don't think so. I like that it remains to be discovered, like finding gold in the ashes. You know it once you spot it, though. A separate shelf would sort of relegate it to one category, and none of the great works of MR can be so relegated.
MARIO HERRERA, student/University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NMYes
riodude@unm.eduCAROLIVIA HERRON, novelist, Washington DCYes and no. That would require people making judgment calls about the literature, and since the definition is so malleable, some would inevitably be mislabeled. Also, I feel that publishers would start to categorize it in their own way, which I feel is really never a good thing. It would be a great place to start searches, though, and also make it more widely known.
Carolivia@carolivia.orgDAVID INKEY, poet and philosopher (the UN Poet)Yes.
unpoet@aol.com
KATIE, graduate student/English teacher, Richmond, VANo.
SONDRA KELLY-GREEN, writer, Willamina, ORYes, but it may be difficult since it intertwines so many other elements of fiction. Perhaps a small section with books solely dedicated to Magical Realism would at least begin the process of explaining this concept to people.
veniceitaly@excite.com
KATIE KLEIN, librarianDefinitely. So many people are looking for something truly new and different. If MR work were segregated from more mainstream books and films I think interest in the genre would surge.
DERAN LUDD, Seattle, WANot really. Few people know what magical realism is, understand it, or look for it. Magical realism by itself is too broad and indefinite a category for its own section. If everything that could fit in the category was shelved there, it would cause a lot of confusion. Magical realist works generally fit into at least one other category where more people would look for it. If one shelf was dedicated to a limited number of clearly magical realist works, then the people most likely to seek out that shelf would probably already know about all of those books.
SANDRA MADDUX-CREECH, laid-off account manager, Wellington, CONo, too broad a genre.
madduxcreech@msn.com
ANDREW MCCRAY, high-school student, Highlands Ranch, COAbsolutely. I'd also like sections for savvy horror, cult films, and dark comedy.
HERMINE MEINHARD, poet/writing teacher, New York, NYNo one can really define what magical realism is, so it would be hard to catagorize things into a book shelf. I see magical realism as a sub-genre of science fiction or fantasy, but with its own character. I don't think a shelf would be very good, but maybe if someone made a list of books that are considered by most to be magical realism, then people could look for those.
herminem@earthlink.net
LETTIE PRELL, Des Moines, IAI have mixed feelings about it… I like the idea of highlighting magical realism as a way of thinking, but I don't want it to become a "genre"… i.e., my concern would be people would start thinking of it like genre writing, as in mystery, romance, etc., if we started special sections for it… Magical realism has a vital place in the literary world and I'd be concerned that this would belittle it…
ROBERT PREUSS, writer, Saratoga Springs, NYMaybe, but would people know to go there? Marketing issue…
JOHN PROHASKA, Winnipeg, ManitobaPardon me if I'm being a poll-vaulter!!!! but by asking this question, are you not "leading" the respondent? Isn't this what you wanted to achieve by creating this survey and doesn't the structure of your survey tend to skew results by reinforcing the idea of a category that, for many or most people, does not exist?I believe that the joy of discovery is part of the enjoyment of reading, and that is why some of us still prefer independent booksellers… finding the Charlotte Painters, for example, even the once widely read Richard Brautigans (the distinctive covers helped there!). That being said ... people don't have the leisure time they once had. In almost every aspect of life, convenience is at a premium. I think that having such a shelf would be a service to readers as a convenience. Younger people are, I believe, more accustomed to categorization (while we old soul rebels reject it). In other words, it's a double-edged sword. [The editor responds: Oh, there's nothing scientific about this poll, no hidden agenda, we're just curious…]
johnprohaska2000@yahoo.ca
KEN RAND, writer/part-time library shelver, West Jordan, UTI'm not sure. First, the genre itself is no guarantee of quality, though it might make it easier for people to take a chance on such works and educate people as to the existence and nature of the form. As well, I question people's ability to properly define the genre. It's true that a work may blend and bend characteristics, thereby preventing it from fitting neatly into a specific category. But then, I find it displeasing when any noteworthy fiction that contains an element of surrealism or some brief instance of the magical or unimaginable is immediately embraced and labeled as MR, all out of a desperate need to validate it, even if one has to bend it to make it fit. This is unnecessary. Just because MR is not widely embraced or even known does not hinder its legitimacy. Possibly, the opposite. Will we be happier when MR becomes the next literary fad? Will its legitimacy as a proper genre of higher literature be increased when the catalogue is diluted with badly written works? It might bring more reknown to the term and genre, but I can't help but think that the majority of those who would be interested in it are already aware. My concern is with those who are tragically linear and traditional in their thinking, that they presume that producing work with romantic or sensual elements (as MR does) or that just generally strays from standard reality, should be dismissed as if such pursuits were frivolous, more akin to ghost stories and sci-fi. It's really not the "brand recognition" that is problematic. It's dry thinking that assumes colourless biographies about long-dead generals (whether historical or fictional) are automatically more legitimate than novels that bend the universe to their own purpose. That is the issue that needs reconciliation.
KRand27577@aol.com
JEAN MARIE RIQUELME, poet, Green Bay, WINo. Wuffo? I don't see the shelver knowing what goes there and what doesn't. I don't see video renters knowing what to do with such a shelf.
MELANIE RIVERA, student, Washington DCYes.
mr5831a@american.edu
GARRETT ROWLAN, subteacher, Los Angeles, CAYes.
growlan@jps.net
KELLEY WHITE, pediatrician, Philadelphia, PAIt is not useful for MR to have a special section, the category is too vague and overlaps. No firm division between magic realism, irrealism, surrealism, and fantasy.Thanks for listening to me.
KelleyWhiteMD@Yahoo.com
CAROL ZAPATA-WHELAN, university instructor, Hispanic Lit/writer, Clovis, CA, USA/ArgentinaI think it would be great fun to have a magical realism shelf/the employee picks at my local TLA video store are sometimes pretty interesting.
GO TO POLL HOMEYes! but interestingly enough, I sent a synopsis for a film idea I had once to a professor of screenwriting at a university in Los Angeles for feedback. She thought the magical realist elements of the screenplay synposis would keep it from selling. I don't know what that means, exactly (maybe that was a kind way of saying "don't give up your day job," but I find it interesting.
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