Republic of the Philippines

Laguna State Polytechnic University

Province of Laguna

Issues and Challenges in Emerging Literature

Reporters:
Estiola, Dexter Jomark
Pielago, Rica Mariz

Objectives:
● Examine unique characteristics of new emerging genres of literature;
● Discuss issues and challenges in emerging literature

Emergent Literature is a contemporary body of texts that is gaining momentum in

the global literary landscape. It breaks the traditional way of writing and uses
unconventional techniques (pictures/ images, comic book format). It also has new
genres of scholarly discourse such as online collaboration, academic blogs, websites
and e-prints. This literature deals with current themes or issues.
Emerging Literature is an integration of a traditional and technological driven
form of literature.

UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF NEW EMERGING GENRES OF LITERATURE

New styles appear, being influenced by existing genres, and serving as an

inspiration for future generations of writers. Our society also doesn’t stand still. New
cultural and philosophical concepts have a direct impact on literature. Some genres
quickly become mainstream, spreading across the world, while others gain a small,
specific audience, without being aimed towards the broadest public.

This is according to an article made by E. Brierley (2018) entitled 6 Emerging

Book Genres We Bet You Haven’t Heard Of.

1. Mythopoeia
Mythopoeia translates from the Greek as “myth-making”. This fictional genre presents a
new mythology created by a particular author.
Mythopoeia became a modern version of mythology that maintains the balance between
a tradition and the demands of modern readers, both mature and young. The most
popular examples of mythopoeia are George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Fire and Ice
(which popularity increased dramatically after the release of the Game of Thrones TV
series), Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson, and Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games.

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 2. Bitpunk
Bitpunk is the 8-bit version of cyberpunk and post-cyberpunk. The aesthetics of this
genre takes its roots in such musical genres as chiptune and chipcore. The nostalgia for
classic video games and technologies of the past three decades isn’t going to get
weaker. Quite the contrary, it explores new vistas of creativity and perpetuates itself in
literature.
Bitpunk novelists were inspired by J.B. Ghurman, Jr.’s movie Spork that sets the stylistic
and ideological bases of bitpunk the movement. The movie delivers a relevant socio-
political message, telling a story of an intersexed person who identifies herself as a
woman. Even though it isn’t focused on issues of sexuality, this approach establishes
the “punkish” nature of the genre, challenging the outdated stereotypes and traditionalist
sensibility. The influence of this movie will surely become even stronger in the near
future, and elements of bitpunk are now present in many contemporary books, such as
Lauren K. McKellar’s Finding Home.

3. Cli-Fi
Given the importance of the global warming issue, there’s no surprise modern authors
created a new trend in literature — climate fiction. These books depict consequences of
climate change. This term was first used by blogger Danny Bloom describing his e-book
Polar City Red. The book itself didn’t attract much attention but the term quickly became
popular among writers inspired by climate change. Ian McEwan’s Atonement and books
of Michael Crichton became classics of the new genre. Nathaniel Rich, the author of
Odds Against Tomorrow, thinks that this genre will continue to evolve in the near future,
because climate change affects our lives on many levels, from the private lives of
people who need to adapt to new circumstances, to geopolitical movements. We keep
transforming our planet, and today’s climate fiction can quickly become tomorrow’s
reality.

4. Lucid Fiction
The world of literature always lived somewhere between dreams and reality. Lucid
fiction makes dreams its main source, describing surrealistic images of the unconscious
and asking readers to solve a puzzle, determining what is real and what is not. Tantra
Bensko contrasts lucid fiction with mass media, which is also a fictional world of
manipulative attempts to blur the ugly truth. Bensko draws analogies with progressive
concepts of New Age literature and motivates readers to seek the truth within
themselves. Lucid fiction writers present their ideas and images from their dreams as a
reality of a particular book. This genre is, in general, a new approach to postmodernism
in a world where we believe in aliens.

5. Bizarro
There are millions of readers who love weird fiction. As a response to the growing

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 demand for all kinds of weirdness, a group of American publishers created a new genre,
which was called bizarro. This genre is a literary version of cult movies. Everything is
possible in bizarro novels. Imagine Japanese cartoons about robots directed by David
Lynch, or adult interpretations of fairy tales — this is what bizarro is all about. A great
example of this genre is Jeff Burk’s Shatnerquake. If you’ve ever seen good ol’ Star
Trek, you might know Captain James Kirk. In this book, William Shatner, the actor who
plays this role, decides to enter our reality and kill the real William Shatner. To discover
the world of bizarro fantasies, I would also suggest reading Jeremy Robert Johnson’s
Angel Dust Apocalypse, James Steele’s Felix and the Sacred Thor, and The Cannabis
of Candyland written by Carlton Mellick III.

6. Twitter Novels
At first sight, Twitter’s 280-character format doesn’t seem like a good solution for
writers. However, nothing can stop true masters of words. Twitter is no longer just a
microblog for bored celebrity fans. In an era when the U.S. President uses it to declare
trade wars, Twitter becomes a perfect place where new literary genres emerge.
Brandon J. Mendelson’s The Falcon Can Hear the Falconer became a micro-sensation
in the world of microblogging, proving that Twitter can be used not only for short poetry,
such as the haiku.

ISSUES AND CHALLENGES OF EMERGING LITERATURE

1.Literature consumption is not the same as it was before.

People no longer read books in the same way that they read them before.Instead,
we’ve adapted to reading blogs, social media feeds, quickly browse listings, andwatch
videos. Some people have not lost their love for printed works and can reason with the
writer, but the trend in literature consumption is no longer the same. The main challenge
of the modern writer is to realize what modern literature is turning into and try to add
their own contribution to what the people want, while still weaving in their own style,
messages and little quirks.

2.Too many “writers”.

Today, everyone who has learned to quickly tap their fingers on the keyboard can
easily think of themselves as a writer. Thing is that technology has disrupted everything
in such a way that there are no longer strict rules of entry into the literary world. It now
doesn’t really matter if you have a real talent or not, anyone can easily call themselves a
writer and point to a self-published book. In fact, it doesn’t even matter that those self-

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 published works are far from true works of literature in the best sense. There Are way
too many “writers” today. A real talented writer today has a harder time proving their
potential in these very difficult conditions where so many untalented people publish poor
quality books.

3.Too Much Reused and Copied Ideas.

Taking into account the amount of information that is produced and reproduced
on the internet daily, it is really hard to come up with something new. If 100 years ago
the authors had great scope for creativity and imagination, today one can argue that
we've already covered everything and published books on all possible topics and
genres. Each idea any writer might consider has arguably already been
written,transcribed, adapted, translated and chewed hundreds of thousands of times. It's
Almost impossible to come up with something truly unique.

But there is a flip side to this—if you manage to create something new, then you are
almost guaranteed instant success. Uniqueness in modern literature is quite rare in the
21st century.

4.Some types of emergent literature are dismissed as “inferior literature”.

Graphic novels in any form were generally dismissed as inferior literature “not
proper reading” People say that the style of graphic novels, such as comic books or
manga, cannot be counted as literature, as they are just art

5. Mass media

There is a lot more to do in our free time than read, most of which is easier than
reading. Reading is a task that requires time and effort (usually); you can’t pitch
convenience or speed to someone when discussing literature. Movies are more action-
packed (though usually watered-down); TV entertains; video games excite; the internet
always has a myriad of things to do. Why read? Sure, people in the 1800s and early
20th Century read far more than we do, but they had fewer diversions.

6. Usage of Vernacular and Colloquial words

Colloquial language is used in informal writing situations and creates a conversational

tone. Everyday spoken language gives your writing a casual, relaxed effect. Colloquial
language is not necessarily “wrong,” but it is used when a writer is trying to achieve

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 informality. Colloquialism also undermine the serious effect you want to have on the
reader, also it does not satisfy the need for exactness of expressions

7. Barriers to publication entry have crashed

Enabling huge trend of subliterary and/or nonliterary textual expression. Most

Emerging Literature in the past years hasn't been very inclusive to people who are older
and of age as the Emerging Literature is very up to date with current cultures and what
teens are interested in which most older people aren't privy to.

8. Unstable computer, Internet and cellphone

Interfaces become the world's primary means of cultural access. Compositor

systems remake media in their own hybrid creole image. It's hard how Emerging
Literature has been very reliant on technology and the internet because if one day we
don't have the current technology that we have then this Emerging Literature could be
useless.

REFERENCES:
● E. Brierley (2018) 6 Emerging Book Genres We Bet You Haven’t Heard Of.
http://www.theindependentpublishingmagazine.com/2018/11/6-emerging-
book-genres-we-bet-you-havent-heard-of-ester-brierley-guest-post.html
● E. Fleming (2019) What are the new emerging genres of literature?
https://www.sidmartinbio.org/what-are-the-new-emerging-genres-of-
literature/#What_are_the_new_emerging_genres_of_literature
● J. Ordonio (n.t) Emerging-Literature
https://www.coursehero.com/file/94661593/Emerging-Literaturepptx/
● https://www.scribd.com/document/513186967/Issues-of-Emerging-Literature

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