More Magic Realism Folks

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Mary E. Choo

It's difficult to discuss Magic Realism without first attempting to define it. I think of the movement in conventional terms, of a literature in which the magical is an integral part of everyday existence.

Of course it's not that simple. Much about literature, and thus Magic Realism, is contradictory by nature. As a writer, and an appreciative reader of Magic Realism, I find a lot of what I've read to be punctuated with striking images and subtle allegory. When employed successfully by the writer, these devices enrich each piece, rendering it, and the often-fantastic situations it portrays, unique. It's that difference which intrigues me, especially when I find that many works, or parts of them, edge past the parameters of my definition. The reader senses that for many of these writers, the images and visual perceptions which enhance their craft are an intrinsic thing, deeply rooted in their individuality. One only needs to look through any available issue of C. Darren Butler's Magic Realism to see how varied and challenging the work of such authors can be.

Literature, surely, and Magic Realism in particular, define themselves best by just being. Magic Realism's strength is in its endless permutations and imaginative thrust. As long as its writers push the creative envelope, the genre will continue to grow and evolve, and ultimately, to thrive.

THE END

Mary E. Choo

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