08-12-2008, 12:55 PM
Yes, it is dead. As I wrote in an article of mine, I have a keen interest in literature, specifically that of the 19th century, when Gothic and "weird" fiction was in its heyday. For example, even today, Poe is considered a great master, although we don't really know why. Something about the haunting images of his writing stays with us in addition to the grandiose writing; the overwroughtness; the aura of decadence that resonanted as well with French poet Baudelaire and the French in general. Strange how a man now considered a literary genius was more popular abroad than in his own country.
I do think that our age is much more decadent, but also a lot less Romantic than that gilded age of Gothic Horrors. This is a subject that perturbs me, as I, someone who writes in a vein of Gothic Horror (for the most part), cannot find a proper genre for my writing. It is also disturbing, and asymptomatic of the malady of our modern age: lack of beauty. Unlike Poe's writing, which was beautiful, there is really no beauty in any of the modern Gothic of today. Aside from a few scant authors like Tanith Lee or Angela Carter, there is very little interest in aesthetically pleasing stories with an undertone of both malice and meaning, essential to that of fine Gothic literature.
I do think that our age is much more decadent, but also a lot less Romantic than that gilded age of Gothic Horrors. This is a subject that perturbs me, as I, someone who writes in a vein of Gothic Horror (for the most part), cannot find a proper genre for my writing. It is also disturbing, and asymptomatic of the malady of our modern age: lack of beauty. Unlike Poe's writing, which was beautiful, there is really no beauty in any of the modern Gothic of today. Aside from a few scant authors like Tanith Lee or Angela Carter, there is very little interest in aesthetically pleasing stories with an undertone of both malice and meaning, essential to that of fine Gothic literature.
