Never thought I'd be writing a defence of post-modernism, but
I think it's important to distinguish between work which is
self consciously post-modern and makes sure we realise it by
referencing classics of modernism - e.g .James Sallis's work
- and stuff that just happens to be postmodern because life
is pretty postmodern - e.g. most post Tarantino crime fiction
set in a world in which life copies the Sopranos and vice
versa. It's a distinction that may be easier to understand if
you look at music. There's plenty of intellectual postmodern
art-rock and there's also hip hop which is utterly postmodern
- in that it takes an established art form, dismantles it and
puts it back together in a new fashion, while providing a
self-referential commentary - but rarely avowedly
intellectual.
Nothing against Sallis's stuff which I like a lot, by the
way.
John
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