ladybusiness | Entries tagged with topic: literary criticism

Over the last decade or so I've seen the term “cozy” applied to a subset of SFF more and more. I've even used it myself as the theme of a couple of short SFF rec lists. But I also see confusion as to what "cozy SFF" means, and a certain amount of scorn for the concept. I think the concept of cozy SFF has a lot to offer, even if I’m not thrilled with the current direction the subgenre is going.

First let's define what cozy SFF is. Now I'm not a fan of drawing hard and fast genre lines, instead I like to think about genre as conversation. Cozy SFF has been around long enough that we can talk about some key themes in the conversation. Cozy SFF generally has small stakes, focusing on small moments, not the fate of the world. These lower stakes generally go along with much less onscreen violence in these stories. Another key aspect of cozy SFF is that it focuses on community-building. And finally, cozy SFF honors the importance of domestic labor and other undervalued jobs.

Of course some books meet some of these criteria but not others, but are worth discussing as part of the cozy conversation. This isn’t meant to draw hard lines around cozy SFF, but rather to outline the key themes that I want to talk more about.

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forestofglory

Criticism comes in many forms, because there's many ways to think critically about media. A form of criticism that I really enjoy is the critical essay. These are longform pieces of criticism that are generally focused on a broad range of works and developing our understanding more deeply. Critical essays can help us better understand works in context, both by highlighting how works are in conversation with each other and by looking at works in their larger social context.

In the past I've written before about older critical essays that are important to me, so for this list I've chosen to focus on newer work. For this list I've included a variety of essays that I've learned from in the last few years.

The History and Politics of Wuxia by Jeannette Ng
In the last several years I've gotten very into Wuxia, the genre of swooshy martial heroes. So of course I wanted to understand the genre and the conversation it's having better. But I wasn't finding a lot that really helped me understand the genre, so I was extremely grateful for this essay. Ng starts off with her childhood love of Wuxia but then goes deep into the history of the genre providing a wealth of context. There's so much nuance and complexity here as Ng explains the political context of the genre and discusses some of the ways it's linked to Han Chinese identity.

From Panic to Process: What Taking Criticism Actually Means by Marissa Lingen
This is an essay not so much about media but really about criticism and how it can be valuable to a writer. I appreciate the distinctions it draws between pre- and post-publication criticism. While the essay stresses that arguing with reviews is rarely a good thing, it does discuss how writers can learn from them.

The Male Glance by Lili Loofbourow Reading
This essay left me feeling stunned by how good it is! It's about how we approach "boy stories" vs "girl stories" and how who a story is about or written by affects its reception, or just how seriously it's taken.

Sergeant Bothari and Disability Representation in the Early Vorkosiverse by R.B. Lemberg
When we discuss disability representation in SFF, Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga is often brought up as a positive model, based on its main protagonist Miles Vorkosigan who is disabled. This essay looks at how other characters with disabilities are portrayed in the series, in particular examining how lower-class disabled people are portrayed. While the Vorkosigan books are important to me, I really appreciate how this essay points out some major flaws and asks readers to reconsider their biases.

What are some of your favorite recent critical essays?

bookgazing

White, yellow and red book cover of Kameron Hurley's The Geek Feminist Revolution featuring an illustration of a llama

It's the start of July. I am trying to review Kameron Hurley's essay collection, The Geek Feminist Revolution. In my wisdom, I have decided an analysis of her essay, "I'll Make The Pancakes: On Opting In And Out of the Writing Game", would make a great entry point for my review. I reread it to remind myself of the piece's fundamental points:

The more women writers I read, from Margaret Atwood and Octavia Butler to Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Toni Morrison, the less alone I felt, and the more I began to see myself as part of something more.

It wasn't about one woman toiling against the universe. It was about all of us moving together, crying out into some black, inhospitable place that we would not be quiet, we would not go silently, we would not stop speaking, we would not give in.

It's hard to see the keyboard when you're trying not to cry.

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nymeth

White cover with the same text in the quote that follows in red and black font

She didn’t write it.
She wrote it, but she shouldn’t have.
She wrote it, but look what she wrote about.
She wrote it, but “she” isn’t really an artist and “it” isn’t really serious, or the right genre—i.e., really art.
She wrote it, but she wrote only one of it.
She wrote it, but it’s only interesting/included in the cannon for one limited reason.
She wrote it, but there are very few of her.

I should start by warning you that this post will be quotes heavy: How to Suppress Women’s Writing is so great that I just want to cite the whole thing at anyone who’ll listen.( Read more... )
Reviewed at: Novel Readings

(You?)

renay

I haven't read Jay Kristoff's Stormdancer, although I marked it as to-read after I saw a blurbs a few months ago. Since the release, however, I've heard enough problematic details that I'm sure I won't bother. This review by You're Killing Me and an essay by The Book Smugglers about their experience with the book and author gave me serious pause. The first link provides additional information at the bottom of the post about why this book is problematic and had me slamming on the brakes and canceling my library hold. ( Read more... )

Lady Business

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Entries tagged with topic: literary criticism

On Cozy SFF

This Made me Think: A Rec list of Critical Essays

The Geek Feminist Revolution by Kameron Hurley

How to Suppress Women’s Writing by Joanna Russ

Calm Down! It's Only Fantasy.

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