Posts

Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad and George Saunders’s Lincoln in the Bardo as Examples of Historiographic Metafiction

Image
This paper was originally submitted as a final requirement for the author’s compliance in the course LIT 606: Seminar in American Literature (2017).   I. Introduction   When we hear the phrase “historical fiction,” there’s a general tendency to assume that this genre has fixed, clearly defined conventions that are as unalterable as the past itself. Celadon Books, for example, the primary search result on Google that appears after one looks up “historical fiction,” defines the genre as such:   Historical Fiction is set in a real place, during a culturally recognizable time. The details and the action in the story can be a mix of actual events and ones from the author’s imagination as they fill in the gaps. Characters can be pure fiction or based on real people (often, it’s both).   MasterClass, meanwhile, describes historical fiction in this manner:   Historical fiction is a literary genre where the story takes place in the past. Historical no...
Post a Comment
Read more

[Fiction] The Parable of the Sower and the Executive

Image
This work of fiction was originally anthologized in Hulagway: Empire & Emporia, published and launched jointly by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the Ateneo de Zamboanga – Mindanao Institute on March 9, 2024, with printed copies subsequently distributed the following month. * * * 1 There is this story that is a favorite among priests, preachers, and gurus of these islands. It tells of a young man who ventures into the desert alone. 2 His reasons are not given, but the solo journey into a desolate place signals to the listeners that this is a man intent on discovering something about himself that can only be unearthed after a long and arduous trek. 3 As he walks across the barren landscape, the young man encounters an older man tossing seeds into the dry earth. 4 His curiosity is aroused, and his longing for a conversation after several days on his own compels him to approach the old man and ask him what exactly he is up to.   5 “I am planting seeds,”...
Post a Comment
Read more