Short Stories: November 02, 2005 Issue [#690]
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  Edited by: Red Writing Hood <3 Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

By Modernism I mean the positive rejection of the past and the blind belief in the process of change, in novelty for its own sake, in the idea that progress through time equates with cultural progress; in the cult of individuality, originality and self-expression.

ATTRIBUTION: Dan Cruickshank (b. 1949), British architectural critic. Commerce and Culture, ch. 4 (1989).



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Letter from the editor

THIS MONTH: We will move on and address this question:

Submitted By: C.J. Author Icon
Submitted Comment:

Flash fiction is awesome when done suitably, I'm glad you've chosen to do a few newsletters about it. May I suggest a future newsletter on modernism and post-modernism? I’ve written a short story in the post-modern form and I find a lot of members here don’t know what modernism is. I wrote a short piece explaining it, but a newsletter would surely be helpful I think. C.J.




The first thing I thought when I researched Modernism and Postmodernism was, “I’ve seen movies like that,” but both Modernism and Postmodernism apply to more than movies and books – they apply to art, architecture, philosophy and more.

The second thing I thought was, “there are more definitions of Modernism and Postmodernism than there are excuses from my kids for why there rooms aren’t clean!”

To help sort it out for you I will give you my take on the subject and then share with your some links that will help you get as acquainted as you want to with this complicated, yet interesting subject.

Picture yourself (or your child) beginning to become their own person. In order to define themselves, they need to distance themselves from their parents. Sometimes they rebel and come back only slightly altered from their parents and sometimes they come back as total opposites.

Modernism rebelled from its Victorian parents. Postmodernism rebelled from its Modernism parents. Of course, this is simplifying the subject to the very basics but I wanted to consider the huge variance in audience age for this newsletter.

Modernism had many factors besides Victorian parents that shaped it. The excesses of the “Roaring 20’s” (which had a flu epidemic prior, prohibition during, and other factors which effected that era) and World War I shaped it, as well.

For Postmodernism there was more than Modernism. World War II, Vietnam and the cold war all had their part in it.

For a list of characteristics in literature for modernism and postmodernism check out cj’s item on the subject:

 Understanding Modernism & Postmodernism Open in new Window. [13+]
If you don't know the traits of modern & postmodern literature this will be useful.
by C.J. Author Icon


(It is also in the Editors Picks listed below)

I found another list that can help you understand it from a philosophical standpoint: http://www.xenos.org/classes/papers/pomoch1.htm

Here is a table that compares Modernism and Postmodernism on a Socioeconomic, job (and important people who held them), and Poetic level: http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~amerstu/573/pomochart.html

Here is a site that includes definitions of Modernism and Postmodernism from several sources: http://www.hku.hk/english/courses2000/7006/figitne3.htm

Finally, I’d like to conclude with an excerpt from and link to the site that has my favorite definition on the subject:

         The postmodern is deliberately elusive as a concept,
         avoiding as much as possible the modernist desire to
         classify and thereby delimit, bound, and confine.
         Postmodernism partakes of uncertainty, insecurity,
         doubt, and accepts ambiguity. Whereas Modernism seeks
         closure in form and is concerned with conclusions,
         postmodernism is open, unbounded, and concerned with
         process and "becoming."

         The post-modern artist is "reflexive" in that he/she
         is self-aware and consciously involved in a process of
         thinking about him/herself and society in a deconstructive
         manner, "demasking" pretensions, becoming aware of his/her
         cultural self in history, and accelerating the process
         of self-consciousness.

         This sort of sensitivity to cultural, ethnic, and
         human conditions and experiences has been ridiculed by
         conservatives in recent years as "political correctness."


http://witcombe.sbc.edu/modernism/modpostmod.html


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Editor's Picks

Our Two Items Critiqued Last Month (along with their comments that they made when they submitted their items)


Submitted Item:
The Room Open in new Window. [13+]
Sometimes letting go is the only thing you can do.
by dmack Author Icon

Submitted Comment:

After reading your newsletter, I see there may be a name for what I write. The item I have highlighted is titled 'The Room'. I would appreciate your comments. Thank you, Dmack


Submitted By: Susannah Deschain Author Icon
Submitted Comment:

I'd like to offer up a flash fiction piece for mass critique:
 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor


Or, you can check out any of the pieces in my flash fiction folder, if you want to use any of them for an example, I don't mind!


THEME: Modernism/Post-Modernism


 Understanding Modernism & Postmodernism Open in new Window. [13+]
If you don't know the traits of modern & postmodern literature this will be useful.
by C.J. Author Icon


EXCERPT: After the First World War many people questioned the chaos and the insanity of it all.


 Invalid Item Open in new Window. []

by A Guest Visitor


EXCERPT: Not unhere massform:liquidsolid-bigsmall lithity in black.


The Washing Open in new Window. [18+]
What if the Centre became the Margin?
by C.J. Author Icon


EXCERPT: “No Colorless Allowed,” the sign cries out in bold black letters.


 
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Ask & Answer

Gotta question, answer, problem, solution, tip, trick, cheer, jeer, or extra million lying around?

If so, send it through the feedback section at the bottom of this newsletter OR click the little envelope next to my name Red Writing Hood <3 Author IconMail Icon and send it through email.



Submitted By: dmack Author Icon
Submitted Comment:

Hello Red Writing Hood, I enjoy reading your newsletters. I feel I learn a little something from each one. I've been writing flash fiction for a long time and didn't know it.

I can hardly wait for the results of this round of mass critque. I've made some changes to "The Room" since you selected it. I wonder if the changes suggested will be the same ones I've made.

I look forward to reading future newsletters.



Submitted By: VerySara Author Icon
Submitted Comment:

I just want to second the newsletter on postmodernism! I'll even try to help if anyone
needs it. Thanks. VerySara



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