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YA Literature on the Edge
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From: Catherine Atkins <catkins>
Date: Tue, 06 May 2003 00:05:53 -0700
Jennifer Armstrong wrote:
So I'd like to follow in the same vein and counterpose the question: whose edge does this edginess describe?
*****Good point. The line is different for everyone. I can't bear to read scenes of cruelty to animals, while cursing I hardly notice. Others wouldn't think twice about the death of an animal but might feel every swear word like a jolt. Who is judging what's edgy and whether that edge is good or bad?
As a writer, I tend toward "edgy", though I think of it more as contemporary realism. I never write to offend, and neither does any writer I know.
As a reader, I love edgy YA fiction. My favorite YA is probably FAIR GAME by Erika Tamar, a story involving the gang rape of a mentally disabled teen girl. Tamar uses three alternating viewpoints to tell the story. Brilliant---and edgy. The audience may be limited, but does that mean the book should not exist?
As an alternative ed high school teacher, I know that most of my students don't read edgy YA. They want fantasy books(the girls) or adult pop fiction(the guys). I've always thought of edgy YA as a narrow slice of the market. It is hard to understand the anger it inspires. I think clearly edgy fiction is there for those who want it, and there are many, many alternatives for those who don't.
Catherine Atkins http://www.catherineatkins.com
Received on Tue 06 May 2003 02:05:53 AM CDT
Date: Tue, 06 May 2003 00:05:53 -0700
Jennifer Armstrong wrote:
So I'd like to follow in the same vein and counterpose the question: whose edge does this edginess describe?
*****Good point. The line is different for everyone. I can't bear to read scenes of cruelty to animals, while cursing I hardly notice. Others wouldn't think twice about the death of an animal but might feel every swear word like a jolt. Who is judging what's edgy and whether that edge is good or bad?
As a writer, I tend toward "edgy", though I think of it more as contemporary realism. I never write to offend, and neither does any writer I know.
As a reader, I love edgy YA fiction. My favorite YA is probably FAIR GAME by Erika Tamar, a story involving the gang rape of a mentally disabled teen girl. Tamar uses three alternating viewpoints to tell the story. Brilliant---and edgy. The audience may be limited, but does that mean the book should not exist?
As an alternative ed high school teacher, I know that most of my students don't read edgy YA. They want fantasy books(the girls) or adult pop fiction(the guys). I've always thought of edgy YA as a narrow slice of the market. It is hard to understand the anger it inspires. I think clearly edgy fiction is there for those who want it, and there are many, many alternatives for those who don't.
Catherine Atkins http://www.catherineatkins.com
Received on Tue 06 May 2003 02:05:53 AM CDT
