Firlefanz
Lady of the Land
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Location: Germany
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What exactly is "literary"?
I'm stumbling over this term again and again. Quite honestly, to me it means that a story is not told for story-telling sake, but to show off the author.
"Literary" is a quality I begin to hate in stories. It makes me feel about the same as staring at a canvas with lots of bright streaks and dots on it while being asked to applaud the painter. It makes me feel that craft has been put aside in favour of - pardon my expression - cheap effects.
I know I'm being unfair to many who write mainstream. And yet, just having worked my way through several webzines, I'm fed up with artsy pieces that fail to actually do the central thing I expect in a short story -- tell a story, and tell it well.
Or maybe I'm just too ignorant.
Last edited by Firlefanz, 9/3/2007, 4:07 pm
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9/3/2007, 4:07 pm
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hadaad
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Re: What exactly is "literary"?
It is an attempt to rise above "regular" storytelling and be marked as a piece of art.
I'm with you. I prefer my stories to be stories rather than oblique reference to the human condition or some attempt to justify spending 30000 dollars on an English degree.
Then again, I'm a small-town Canadian kid. That kind of stuff is over my head.
---
Reading: Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes
Writing: Resurrection edits
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9/4/2007, 3:50 pm
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Firlefanz
Lady of the Land
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Re: What exactly is "literary"?
I'm a country village girl, when it comes to that, with a degree in English. 
I suppose you are right, though. It's an attempt to rise above the "just telling a story" story.
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9/4/2007, 4:59 pm
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Loud G
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Re: What exactly is "literary"?
Its a form of elitism. Just like wierd neo-modern poets who band together because "they are so gifted that no one understands their genius". By calling it "Literary" it excludes all other types of literature as "sub par". The less it makes sense, the more it must speak of the human condition...because form follows content....oh wait...no, that is a logical fallacy..... crappy writing is just crappy writing.....not an alusion to the crappiness of life.
--- Reading: Mistborn
Writing: Eriadhin
"Life is like a book, except it takes longer to get to the climax."
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9/4/2007, 7:00 pm
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Firlefanz
Lady of the Land
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Re: What exactly is "literary"?
What annoys me is that it seems so many magazines bow to this kind of writing, even IF they do genre fiction, as well.
Ah, well. I can see myself running a magazine in my ripe old age.
Even without typos.
Last edited by Firlefanz, 9/4/2007, 8:25 pm
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9/4/2007, 8:24 pm
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QS2
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Re: What exactly is "literary"?
Misplaced priorities in these magazines maybe? Or do they sell quite well really?
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9/5/2007, 9:43 pm
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Firlefanz
Lady of the Land
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Registered: 05-2003
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Re: What exactly is "literary"?
No, they don't sell well. Most of them are for-the-love magazines which don't create any or very little profit.
However, even the big magazines have been losing subscribers and revenue, so I don't know if it's a general trend in reading, or whether the time is right for going back to real quality in writing.
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9/6/2007, 7:11 am
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Reythia
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Re: What exactly is "literary"?
I've never had much patience with most things labeled "fine literature" either. And those I have liked have usually been because the story and characters are excellent. I am no longer in school, and thus I no longer am forced to read the others. 
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9/6/2007, 4:02 pm
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