Dirty Realism
Dirty Realism
“Dirty Realism” is described as a North American literary movement which can be traced in the 1970s-80s. According to this movement the narrative is stripped down to its fundamental features. It is actually a writing style which originated in the US and depicts in great detail the seamier or more mundane aspects of ordinary life. The term was coined by Bill Buford of Granta magazine. It formed the title of the Summer 1983 edition of Granta magazine for which Buford also gave an explanatory introduction:
"Dirty realism is the fiction of a new generation of American authors. They write about the belly-side of contemporary life – a deserted husband, an unwed mother, a car thief, a pickpocket, a drug addict – but they write about it with a disturbing detachment, at times verging on comedy. Understated, ironic, sometimes savage, but insistently compassionate, these stories constitute a new voice in fiction."
Dirty Realism is sometimes also considered a variety of Literary minimalism, it is characterised by an economy with words and a focus on surface description. Here writers working within the genre tend to eschew adverbs, extended metaphor and internal monologue, instead allowing objects and context to dictate meaning. We get to see the characters in ordinary, unremarkable occupations and often a lack of resources and money that creates an internal desperation. The characters in minimist stories and novels tend to be unexceptional. It basically concerns ordinary working people in ordinary settings, often with little money and few expectations. It is usually written with a disturbing detachment, at times verging on comedy. These stories are understated, ironic, sometimes savage but insistently compassionate and they constitute an entirely new voice in fiction.
If we study the topic properly we will come to the conclusion that though it is preferably about common people and dilemmas attached to the human condition, dirty realism owns a common
“Dirty Realism” is described as a North American literary movement which can be traced in the 1970s-80s. According to this movement the narrative is stripped down to its fundamental features. It is actually a writing style which originated in the US and depicts in great detail the seamier or more mundane aspects of ordinary life. The term was coined by Bill Buford of Granta magazine. It formed the title of the Summer 1983 edition of Granta magazine for which Buford also gave an explanatory introduction:
"Dirty realism is the fiction of a new generation of American authors. They write about the belly-side of contemporary life – a deserted husband, an unwed mother, a car thief, a pickpocket, a drug addict – but they write about it with a disturbing detachment, at times verging on comedy. Understated, ironic, sometimes savage, but insistently compassionate, these stories constitute a new voice in fiction."
Dirty Realism is sometimes also considered a variety of Literary minimalism, it is characterised by an economy with words and a focus on surface description. Here writers working within the genre tend to eschew adverbs, extended metaphor and internal monologue, instead allowing objects and context to dictate meaning. We get to see the characters in ordinary, unremarkable occupations and often a lack of resources and money that creates an internal desperation. The characters in minimist stories and novels tend to be unexceptional. It basically concerns ordinary working people in ordinary settings, often with little money and few expectations. It is usually written with a disturbing detachment, at times verging on comedy. These stories are understated, ironic, sometimes savage but insistently compassionate and they constitute an entirely new voice in fiction.
If we study the topic properly we will come to the conclusion that though it is preferably about common people and dilemmas attached to the human condition, dirty realism owns a common