Is There Room in British Culture for Bizarro Fiction?

I was already writing what I eventually became to recognise as 'Bizarro Fiction' before I had even realised that there was a name, nay - an actual bona-fide literary genre for what I was creating. At the time of writing however "literature's equivalent to the cult section of the video store" is a largely American phenomenon. The term was adopted by Oregon based publishing house Eraserhead Press in 2005, and the movement has since grown to include a number of independent writers and even a yearly 'Bizarro Con' held over in the US. So, as a London based writer with really no connections to the Pacific Northwest- is there room in British culture for the genre of the weird?

So what is Bizarro?

'Bizarro Fiction' is basically a form of storytelling that is knowingly absurd, surreal and mixes humour with elements of pop-culture and satire. According to Rose O'Keefe of Eraserhead Press: "Basically if an audience enjoys a book or film primarily because of its weirdness, then it is Bizarro." Arguably the largest ingredient to Bizarro however, is a heady dose of humour and satire. It's not weirdness for weirdness sake; it's weirdness to entertain, and it seems to me that there is enormous potential for Bizarro Fiction here in the UK. Our unique 'Britishness', combined with a dry, ironic and often black sense of humour is absolute feeding ground for the Bizarro writer. Comedy acts such as the Monty Python gang and even the modern League of Gentlemen have created a British tradition for black, satirical humour, so why shouldn't this extend to literature?

Yes- perhaps Bizarro is not the most neatly crafted of fiction and it's not surprising that the majority of Bizarro Authors tend to self-publish and self-publicise their own work. I imagined approaching a British literary agent for example, who would probably grimace and twirl his/her handlebar moustache before ushering me quickly away- towards the nearest mental asylum. At the moment, Bizarro lingers somewhere on the periphery of the literary world; lying in wait until the world is ready for its particular brand of kooky, intelligent silliness. Brit magazine Dazed & Confused commented that "The bastard sons of William Burroughs and Dr. Seuss, the underground lit cult of the Bizarros are picking up where the cyberpunks left off." The literary world may not be ready, but the world better be ready, as just as Chick Lit tapped into the subconscious desires of easy-reading women Bizarro Fiction has the potential to tap into the irreverent whimsy of the bustling Indie market.

It's weird, it's wonderful, and you better be ready for it Britain, because really- you've harboured it all along.

Alexandra Kulup's first collection of short stories entitled Guffaw! is available to purchase on Amazon Kindle:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Guffaw-Anthology-Bizarro-Fiction-ebook/dp/B0067BDSD2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322001120&sr=8-1

Please also see Alexandra's website for more information:

http://www.bizarrofiction.co.uk/

Or follow on twitter @misskulup @bizarro_fiction

Source