Beyond Tradition: Postmodern Literature and Poetry

Contemporary Period1950-Present Also known as the Postmodern Period

History • After World War II, Americans lived with two unsettling new facts • The Cold War with the Soviet Union • The atomic bomb – became a dramatic symbol of the last half of the 20th century

Traits • Gallows humor – ironic humor arising from an acknowledgement of the absurd of grotesque • Used often by Kurt Vonnegut • “First the doctor told me the good news: I was going to have a disease named after me.” ― Steve Martin

Traits (Cont’d.) Allows for multiple meanings and multiple worlds Narrators and characters may tell different versions of a story Writers structure their works in a variety of nontraditional forms and do not abide by conventional rules. Some works are intensely self-conscious – metafiction Cultural diversity Blends fiction with nonfiction

New Journalism Subgenre of Contemporary Literature Also called Literary Journalism Adds personal and fictional elements (ie: plot structure) to nonfiction Example: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Poetry Postmodern poetry is a strong reaction to the previous period of Modernism Postmodern poets did not like that Modern poetry was impersonal, allusive and intellectually challenging Postmodern poets wanted to create poetry that was more personal and accessible and that challenged complacency and convention

Confessional School of Poetry Subgenre of Contemporary Literature Poetry that deals with vividly personal experiences of the poets Confessional poets often brought taboo subjects into their poetry, such as depression, suicide, and alocholism

Confessional School of Poetry(Cont’d.) Founded by Robert Lowell Other famous poets: Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, John Berryman

Beyond Tradition: Postmodern Literature and Poetry