Experimental literature

Experimental literature refers to works of poetry and fiction that radically push the boundaries of traditional literature and standard genres. By breaking through the rigors of structure, authors tell stories about the evolving human condition through innovative techniques in narrative and design. Experimental literature took shape in the beginning of the twentieth century. The genre is linked to the literary movements of modernism and postmodernism. It includes elements of the absurd, bizarre, and surreal. Writers use unorthodox storytelling techniques, such as stream of consciousness, fragmentation, multiple perspectives, and unique textual layouts. By upending traditional literary principles, experimental literature subverts expectations and challenges readers. Groundbreaking writers in the genre include James Joyce, Mark Z. Danielewski, Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, and Virginia Woolf.

Background

Also called avant-garde, experimental literature does not adhere to the forms, conventions, content, and styles of traditional realistic fiction. The genre goes hand in hand with the modernist movement of literature, which developed from the chaos of World War I.

The first global war killed millions between 1914 and 1918 and spread destruction and loss. As people experienced alienation and despair, advances in technology, science, and education spurred new ways of thinking about the world. Reflecting a changing society, modernist authors abandoned the restraints of traditional literature. By deconstructing literary conventions, they experimented with new methods to relate life experiences.

In traditional fiction, a typical narrative follows a linear structure with a beginning, a middle, and an end. The story relies on a plot in which characters deal with emotional problems and moral dilemmas before finding resolution.

Unlike realistic fiction, experimental literature does not necessarily strive to tell a complete story but rather focuses on how the story is told. Experimental writers may use a nonlinear narrative format. Instead of telling a story from beginning to end, the author may relate the events out of chronological order. Stories may lack a central conflict, and characters may not achieve closure. Authors may not follow traditional sentence structure, grammar, or punctuation. Experimental literature often utilizes ambiguity, encouraging readers to read between the lines.

The perception of reality is a key theme in experimental literature. Traditional fiction looks outward, portraying believable situations, familiar settings, and a consistent point of view. Experimental fiction looks inward, projecting characters' observations onto the world around them. Experience is relative as characters seek answers and search for meaning within themselves.

After World War II (1939–1945), postmodernism emerged in the mid-twentieth century as a reaction to modernism. Experimental literature developed as postmodern writers rejected the truth as being absolute. They embraced subjectivism and skepticism and explored the idea of unreliable narrators—a point of view that readers may not be able to trust—to convey standard literary ideas in alternate ways. Some writers experimented with the design of text on a page, which added a visual layer to the story.

Experimental literature is associated with various avant-garde movements during the twentieth century. In the early 1900s, Dadaism employed nonsense sounds and emphasized the irrational. Surrealism sought to recreate the aimless quality and unconscious nature of dreams. Futurism attempted to apply the dynamics of machine processes to writing. During the 1950s and 1960s, absurdist literature conveyed the lack of purpose widely felt by individuals after the horrors of World War II.

Overview

By playing with form, language, and text, writers of experimental literature have the freedom to break established literary rules and create new ones. Writers use unconventional techniques to test the norms of traditional literature.

A hallmark of experimental literature is stream of consciousness. The narrative technique is a direct line to a character's thought process. The character's fleeting sensations, impressions, and memories flow freely on the page.

Another method is fragmentation, in which the story or novel is divided into sections that focus on parts of a character's life. The character's inner thoughts and feelings are conveyed during each fragment.

Experimental writers use multiple perspectives. Instead of maintaining a single viewpoint, authors may switch from first person to third person or include the viewpoints of animals, inanimate objects, or forces of nature.

Authors may adjust textual layouts, or how the text of the novel or story looks on a page. They may arrange the text in unusual ways. They may leave open spaces or alter the typography of words to appear in different fonts and sizes.

Experimental literature gained prominence through writers willing to take risks in telling stories. Irish modernist James Joyce was a father of the genre. In his groundbreaking novel Ulysses (1922), which follows three Dubliners through an average day, Joyce eschewed a traditional narrative, plot, and setting in favor of stream of consciousness.

American novelist Virginia Woolf was a pioneer of the genre. She used fragmentation, stream of consciousness, and multiple viewpoints in her works. In 1927's To the Lighthouse, Woolf used stream of consciousness and varying narrators to tell the story of a family on holiday.

Influential author Jack Kerouac was a member of the post–World War II "beat generation," a group of American writers who epitomized counterculture. Kerouac worked outside literary conventions to create a new narrative form that combined prose and poetry. In 1957, Kerouac wrote the landmark novel On the Road about his travels across the United States.

Fellow beat writer William S. Burroughs's wildly experimental novel The Naked Lunch (1959) follows its drug-addicted protagonist through a hallucinogenic maze of memories and delusions. The novel mashes together different genres, from detective noir to satire. It features cut-ups, passages of prose cut from paper and pieced back together.

American writer Mark Z. Danielewski made a notable contribution to experimental literature with his 2000 book House of Leaves. The atypical horror novel ignores genre convictions to tell the story of a house with a dark space growing inside. The book has its own unique textual layout, which corresponds to its narrative action. Text changes direction on the page, certain paragraphs jut out from others, and some pages have only one or two lines.

Experimental literature subverts the expectations of reading fiction. The genre questions what literature is and can be. Readers may expect a traditional format, only to find that authors have shaken up the formula. Experimental fiction enables writers to engage with readers on more intellectual and visual levels.

The unorthodox techniques challenge readers to think outside the norm. However, without the conventions of structure, experimental literature can be difficult for some readers to understand.

Experimental literature allows authors to reshape literary practice, creating new forms of storytelling. The genre encourages readers to open their minds and look beyond the ordinary.

Bibliography

Armstrong, Julie. Experimental Fiction: An Introduction for Readers and Writers. Bloomsbury Academic, 2014.

Bennett, Michael Y. The Cambridge Introduction to Theatre and Literature of the Absurd. Cambridge UP, 2015.

Bensco, Tantra. "Writing Experimental Fiction: Leave the Problem Out of the Plot." Writing World, 2010, www.writing-world.com/fiction/experimental.shtml. Accessed 27 Nov. 2017.

Bray, Joe, et al., editors. The Routledge Companion to Experimental Literature. Routledge, 2012.

"Experimental Fiction." Map Literary (William Paterson University), www.mapliterary.org/on-experimental-fiction.html. Accessed 27 Nov. 2017.

"Experimental Literature." Writing.com, www.writing.com/main/view‗item.php/item‗id/987562-Experimental-Literature. Accessed 27 Nov. 2017.

Gibbons, Allison. Multimodality, Cognition, and Experimental Literature. Routledge, 2012.

Lorcher, Trent. "Modernism in Literature: Quick Overview." Bright Hub Education, www.brighthubeducation.com/high-school-english-lessons/29453-modernism-in-literature/. Accessed 28 Nov. 2017.

Poole, Stephen. "Gothic Scholar: Stephen Poole Is Intrigued by the Warping of Space in Mark Z Danielewski's 'House of Leaves.'" Guardian, 15 July 2000, www.theguardian.com/books/2000/jul/15/fiction.reviews. Accessed 28 Nov. 2017.