Bizarro fiction

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bizarro is a genre of transgressive, underground literature. While there is a long history of such work in popular culture, the term Bizarro is best applied to contemporary works of art in this vein. Bizarro literature encompasses many writing styles and sub-genres including splatterpunk and new absurdism.

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[edit] Aesthetics

In his essay "The Four Rules of Bizarro" Kevin Dole 2 observed four traits common to contemporary Bizarro writings: "Provocative Offense," "Meaningful Transgression," "Experimentation," and "Brevity." [1] The essay was met with some skepticism, the chief criticism being that as an experimental genre Bizarro has no official "rules."

[edit] History of the Name

While the modern Bizarro movement in literature can trace its roots at least as far back to the foundation of Eraserhead Press in 1999, the name 'Bizarro' is a recent invention. Previous terms used to refer to the burgeoning scene include "irreal" and "new absurdism" but neither of these was used with consensus. On June 19, 2005 Kevin Dole 2 released "What The Fuck is This All About," a sort of manifesto for the then unnamed genre. While the essay does not feature the word "Bizarro," it ends with the following observation: "this new type of literature, whatever you call it, is just beginning." [2] Subsequent discussion about the essay led to the name as well as the inauguration of the Mondo Bizarro Forum.

[edit] Bizarro authors

[edit] Bizarro Publishers

[edit] Bulletin Boards

[edit] Bizarro Publications