Paraliterature

Paraliterature is an academic term for written works dismissed as not literary. It includes commercial fiction, popular fiction, pulp fiction, comic books and, most notably, genre fiction with works of science fiction, fantasy, mystery and others.[1]

Criticism

On the term "paraliterature", Ursula K. Le Guin commented that "it exists. What I'm saying is that I don't want to perpetuate this division. So I would always put it in quotes, or do something to show that I'm rejecting a word that I have to use".[2]

Notes

  1. ↑ Baldick 2009, p. 246.
  2. ↑ Le Guin 2008, p. 110.

References

  • Baldick, Chris (2009). The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 361.
  • Le Guin, Ursula (2008). Freedman, Carl, ed. Conversations with Ursula K. Le Guin. Literary Conversations Series. University Press of Mississippi. p. 182.

See also