Postmodernism a Preamble to the 2000s

As the turn of the century looms with hope and tension, the word “postmodern” has become de rigueur, a catch-all phrase for the future-leaning literature, philosophies and subcultures that we hope will take us into the 2000s.

But few seem to know what the term actually means. “Postmodern American Fiction: A Norton Anthology” (W. W. Norton, 672 pages, $24.95) helps by presenting such writers as Thomas Pynchon, William S. Burroughs, Kurt Vonnegut, Norman Mailer, Mark Leyner, Joyce Carol Oates, William Gibson, Douglas Coupland, Umberto Eco and Jean Baudrillard, among others.

The anthology’s well thought-out introduction gives an excellent definition of postmodernism: It is the melting of fiction and journalism, of high culture and low culture, of traditional narrative and nonlinear, nontraditional storytelling. Postmodernism is a fascination with the future, technology, image and our ability to communicate and feel.

Edited by Paula Geyh, Fred G. Leebron and Andrew Levy, this paperback tome is not a comprehensive guide to postwar writing, but it is a fitting introduction. Readers will find Pynchon’s “The Crying of Lot 49,” Oates’ “The Turn of the Screw” and Eco’s “Postmodernism, Irony, the Enjoyable.” The book comes with a password for a Web site featuring new postmodern works of “hypertext fiction.”

In a strange twist of media, “Coffeehouse: Writings From the Web” (Manning Publications, 316 pages, $24.95) promises to bring the best of a flourishing literary underground (heretofore unrestrained by the demands of publishers and publishing) to the masses. Edited by Levi Asher and Christian Crumlish, this paperback also features illustrations by Carl Steadman, co-founder of the legendary online magazine Suck.

But the hot spot for popular literature isn’t cyberspace. It’s Scotland, where Irvine Welsh (“Trainspotting,” “Marabou Stork Nightmares”) has sparked a new generation of writers that trains its collective pen on the local downtrodden. “Acid Plaid: New Scottish Writing” (Arcade Publishing, 256 pages, $13.95) anthologizes this phenomenon of ‘90s Scottish “grit-lit”--the work of the new Scottish beats. Included is a new short story from Welsh (“A Fault on the Line”) and works from other notables, including Gordon Legge, Alan Warner and Duncan McLean. The book, introduced in paperback, is edited by Harry Ritchie.

In “Fugitive Cultures: Race Violence & Youth” (Routledge, 247 pages, $16.95), education professor Henry A. Giroux examines the effects of popular culture on America’s children. The mix, he reports, isn’t always good, from the Disney-fication of young children to the hyper-real violence that surrounds teens on movie screens. But Giroux saves his most venomous criticism for the news media, record companies that produce gangsta rap and such “public intellectuals” as Rush Limbaugh--who he says are behind the “racial coding” of violence in America, i.e. the portrayal of violence as an African American problem. The book, now in paperback, sometimes is coded in sociology speak, but its conclusions are valuable to parents concerned about the cultural sea in which their children swim.

Among the flotsam they might find is “Generation X: Field Guide and Lexicon” (Orion Media, 200 pgs, $9.95) by Vann Wesson, a baby boomer from San Diego who wrote the book with the assistance of several younger writers. The book is a dire collection of anecdotes roughly defining America’s 13th generation, as well as a guide to youth slang. Many of the entries, however, are woefully inaccurate (“Techno House Music--A combination of techno and house music.” There is no such genre). Marketers have reduced the price of the book and now are pushing it in the humor category--”Guaranteed to make you laugh.” Indeed.

From generation ecstasy comes “Tihkal: The Continuation” (Transform Press, 804 pages, $24.50) by Alexander & Ann Shulgin, retired cosmonauts of psychedelia. The two probably have tried every psychedelic drug known to humankind, many of which were invented by chemist Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin himself (he is often called the godfather of ecstasy).

“Tihkal” is the culmination of their love and work regarding these drugs. Like its predecessor, “Pihkal,” the book starts with the narrative of the couple’s research with drugs, while the second half features the scientific data. Tihkal’s focus is on tryptamines; taken together, both books cover the entirety of psychedelic compounds.

The conclusion of this aging couple is that these substances can be very useful for the evolution of the mind. The Shulgins acknowledge the dangers, however, and don’t recommend that users get in over their heads.

* D. James Romero reviews books about pop culture every four weeks. Next week: a look at the current magazines.