This is a global portal for all novels and movies about climate change and "The Virus," with news links and opeds from blogs to videos to Wikipedia to Twitter to news links and Facebook Groups. See this portal, the only such cli-fi sci-fi portal on the internet. MEDIA inquiries are okay at this point in time, and personal comments may be sent to the editor at danbloom ATMARK gmail DOT com
When a dictionary blog editor in New York asked me the other day where cli-fi came from, I told her I really didn't know how it all happened. But I tried to put it into words and this is what I told her:
I don't really understand how or why the ''cli-fi'' term became as popular and celebrated as it did. I'm mystified how it has become a calling card of the 21st century. I really didn't have a plan or an agenda, and in fact i really didn't have that much to do with it. I was just using it briefly for a book promotion for a novel I had commissioned in 2010 and which was published in 2012, ''Polar City Red'' by Jim Laughter in Oklahoma, and then I sent out some tweets and blog posts using the term, repeating it over and over wherever it made sense to do so, press releases too, to the New York Times and the UK Guardian and the BBC and The Wrap and over 100 news outlets day by day, week by week, month by month, and it somehow caught on with the literati and book reviewers and some influential newspapers like the New York Times and the Guardian, and by 2014 cli-fi as an independent standalone genre was on its way. I'm still mystified how these things catch on, especially as there wasn't a high-powered public relations agency in
New York or San Francisco or London behind it.
You could say it all happened by osmosis. Is that the right word?
The feeling was in the air. It caught on. Writers and literary critics gravitated to it. I didn't lift a finger.
To this day, in mid-2020, I'm mystified. Maybe it was meant to be, maybe it was in the cards. Lets see what happens next with cli-fi, lets see where it goes in the next ten years or so, the next 30 years. Ask me again in 2050.
I guess there was something impactful about the term that resonated somehow and reached with enough people where it was finally accepted and given spots on Wikipedia and in several online dictionaries.
There was no grand design behind cli-fi. It just happened. Happenstance. The power of language. ---------------------------------------
Iceapelago is a plot-driven climate change thriller: a new cli-fi (climate fiction) genre. Iceapelago describes a country – in this case the island of ...
This is cli-fi. Authors like El Akkad are turning to climate fiction to craft stories about the dark possibilities of a climate-threatened planet and the ...
''Snowflake: A Climate Thriller'' in the Cli-fi Genre is reaching out to readers worldwide
QUESTION: COULD THE FBI ARREST YOU FOR READING THIS BOOK OR ARREST THE AUTHOR FOR WRITING IT WITH A VEILED THREAT TO A SITTING USA PRESIDENT? LEGAL EAGLES AGREE AND DISAGREE.
ONE LAWER TELLS ME: "Snowflake should be protected first amendment speech, as it’s a fictional character in a novel. What are they going to do, arrest Benji? :)."
A friend of this blog tells this blog, in her opinin: “Snowflake ''chronicles not only climate facts, but the actual political actions taken by the Trump administration against the environment. The record Benji exposes is comprehensive and damning, so Trump is the McGuffin that gets the story rolling. But the stakes for this coming 2020 election in Noevmber are incredibly high because we are passing irreversible tipping points. We can’t afford 4 more years of Trump. We need politicians who feel the urgency of our climate emergency and that’s why the author wrote the book I believe. Even if Democrats win in November, it will be helpful but not a cure-all as ever I think. Everybody is way too cautious. The unraveling taking place will unfortunately make SNOWFLAKE relevant for a long time no matter who is in office. But yeah, if the book plays a small role in waking people up to the stakes and voting out a president who is cancer for the environment, then great, in the opinion of many readers nationwide.
An AUTHOR’S NOTE ....from novelist Arthur Jeon [BTW, ''JEON'' if you were wondering is taken from Greek surname from a much longer name in Greek that was changed by a clerk at Ellis Island when Arthur's Greek ancestors immigrated to the USA from Greece.] Although ''Snowflake'' is set against the present-day destruction of our planet, it is a work of fiction. But the attacks on the environment Ben chronicles are real. The media headlines, tweets, and quotes are authentic. And, as of 2020, the facts he lists about our accelerating climate emergency are accurate. – Arthur Jeon
This blog notes: Get ready for a new climate-themed novel titled "Snowflake" by Harvard-educated (''class of 1985'') novelist and screenwriter Arthur Jeon. While I'm based in Taiwan and he's based in California, we were able to set up an email exchange about his debut novel. Here is some of what he told me.
"Snowflake: A Climate Thriller" firmly lands in the category of fiction trying to communicate our climate emergency, he told me, adding: "Because Benji, the main character, is OCD, and the novel is told through the structure of his personal journal, it is full of real and current headlines as the reasons he must act on climate issues. While the novel has a young protagonist, and is therefore a bit of a YA novel, it’s not for anybody under the age of 15. Gen-Z response has been great, as well as responses from mature audiences that like nonfiction and thrillers.''
"I feel like we must urgently get the word out about my novel and have spent three years wrapping the latest research in a fast-moving story. Any help would be greatly appreciated," he said.
Here is the link to the book (with full synopsis) on Amazon.
A modern-day ''climate thriller meets think piece,'' ''Snowflake'' chronicles the journal entries of Ben Wallace, a brilliant high school senior who sees the world beyond his years.
Some might say he’s an “old soul,” while others dismiss him as a bleeding heart vegan liberal due to his progressive views on climate change, eating meat, hunting, factory farming, pollution, species conservation, and overpopulation.
Often called a “snowflake” or “Soy Boy” (as one school bully nicknames him), Ben must constantly defend himself in an out-of-touch gen-Z world consumed with Instagram, selfies, memes, and TikTok.
As a gifted student who obsessively reads scientific papers, Ben is all too familiar with the present-day attacks on our environment and frequently experiences what he refers to as “obsessive climate spirals”–often triggered by horrifyingly authentic tweets, quotes, and news headlines (i.e. “Humans Speeding Extinction, Altering Natural World at Unprecedented Pace” & “Worldwide, 7 Million People A Year Die from Air Pollution”).
Presented with these terrifying truths regarding “climate chaos” and the fate of the world, Ben predicts a looming environmental catastrophe–humanity’s imminent self-extinction.
He recognizes how this impending ecological disaster is provoked by the current President of the United States, who not only passes policies without any consideration for climate change, but denies that it exists altogether–putting the entire globe at risk.
After a profound mind-altering experience and two nearly fatal family tragedies, Ben experiences a spiritual awakening as he recognizes how all life is connected and that we’re all simply animals fighting to survive.
Radicalized by humanity’s downfall (and perhaps his skipped anxiety meds and therapy sessions), while simultaneously guided by his love of animals, philosophy, and moral justice, Ben pledges to take action in pursuit of his grand “Idea,”as he calls it–to assassinate the president in an ultimate act of environmental defense.
This becomes Ben’s daily mantra for six weeks leading up to his grand scheme.
Ben recognizes, “If you keep letting something go, it never ends.” Confronted with daily media headlines like “A Species Goes Extinct Every 20 Minutes, Over 26,000 A Year,” Ben can’t simply ignore the grim state of the world and “wait for the broken machinery of our system to repair itself.”
After all, “What future do any of us have in the face of such destruction?”
But no matter how enraged, this vegan 18-year-old activist makes a rather unlikely assassin as even he feels remorse over the accidental killing of a silverfish. Because of this, he struggles daily with the philosophical, practical, and moral reasons that render his actions not only justified, but necessary.
This may seem like a heady mixture, but it’s all wrapped up in a fast-paced and compelling thriller that keeps the pages turning. You’ll find yourself effortlessly consuming information about real world issues, without feeling like you’re stuck in a classroom.
No doubt, Snowflake is bursting at the seams with facts and inspiration, empowering readers with the knowledge and gall to hopefully take action themselves against environmental injustices.
Ultimately Ben envisions a better world and maps out the steps to get there in what eventually becomes a modern-day manifesto, inspiring future generations to come.
EXCERPT:
Comfort Suites – Youngstown, Ohio Mom, Dad, June – By the time you read this, I’m probably dead. Middle of the night and I’m writing you this awful note in a motel room that smells like an empty swimming pool. Here’s my latest journal, which I started right after the fires – it will explain everything. Hate myself for lying nonstop for weeks, but it describes what’s at stake. Why I had no choice. Don’t blame yourselves, there’s no way you could have known my secret. Hands calm and cold as a corpse. Is it really happening in less than 24-hours? Guess one step at a time gets you here. Please be careful – everything will happen. Keep Gigi close. When the cops bust in, they’ll shoot her for sure. They always kill pit bulls in no-knock raids. Need sleep. Need to function tomorrow. Journal will explain everything. What an unforgivable letter. Hope someday you can forgive me. Love you always. And I’m sorry beyond all words. —Ben 1 Aug. 26 New Journal #915 I gazed inside the gates of hell today. They flanked the 405 Freeway. And not “hell” in the way people complain about driving in LA, inching along in traffic, wondering, how did my life go so wrong? It’s always a parking lot after school, but today’s hell was no metaphor... Embers skitter across ten lanes. Trees in the Sepulveda Pass crack and explode in tornadoes of fire – “Mom! Take the Getty exit so we don’t get trapped.” June, five years away from a driver’s permit, is backseat driving as usual. “We can cut up into the Valley.” Mom swerves onto Getty Drive. Above us, the museum, crapped onto a beheaded mountain by a billion dollars, squats behind a burka of smoke. June wheezes and takes out her inhaler for a hit. I shut the fans. Futile. The car smells like a chimney. “There’s fire everywhere.” Mom hesitates at the intersection, squinting. “Turn right. If it jumps the freeway, we’ll be better off on the other side,” I try to sound calm. But is this how it happens – everything nor- mal, running errands, living your stupid life, and then some horror shows up out of nowhere like a school shooter? And you die in a mudslide? Flood? Inferno? Happening every day now in the Golden State. Mom cuts right, away from home, and floors the car. The roaring Santa Ana winds disappear everything in smoke as afternoon becomes midnight – “Look out!” June yelps. Two men carrying trash bags emerge like ghosts. Mom slams the brakes, and the men scurry into the brush. Did 2 they start the fire? It happens. Homeless in encampments light cooking fires that get away from them, what with everything so dry and – “There’s fire right there.” June points to an exploding tree, each leaf spectacularly aflame. I’m momentarily mesmerized, like a guy jumping off a building, thinking as he falls: This is intense. This is life! Splat. A Mercedes slings by us, forcing an oncoming car into a gully. Mom swerves into the breakdown lane, scraping the concrete barrier. “Mom!” I’m shouting as if I can control any of it. “Take it easy.” “You just tore off the mirror. Badass!” June sounds thrilled, suddenly the star of one of the Fast and Furious movies she drags me to. Mom barrels up the breakdown lane, ignoring the fire truck blaring behind us. That’s when I know she’s losing it. Mom always obeys the law. “There! Open sky,” June declares as we crest the hill that overlooks the valley, slumbering in its usual blanket of smog, unaware that behind us it’s pure movie destruction – like Godzilla belched up from the depths of the ocean to scorch the world. “Will we get to evacuate?” June asks, picturing a vacation from fifth grade. “Depends on the wind.” I roll down a window, take a deep breath, and exhale in a rattle. Turns out, we do have to evacuate. It’s a nightmare because they won’t even let us up to get Gigi, no matter how much we beg the cops at the canyon barricades. Only one way in and out, and they don’t want to risk it for a dog, the heartless bastards. So now Gigi’s stuck up there by herself with fire everywhere, left behind like the pets after Fukushima melted down from the earthquake/tsunami. Left to starve or die of thirst. Or burn to death. Christ! I’m trying not to bug out, downloading this horrible day in a damn Kimpton Boutique Hotel in Westwood because Dad had some points on a credit card. The hotel advertises “Wilshire Chic,” and I’m up on the roof deck with a tiny pool, watching fires rim the distant hills under a nu- clear bomb of smoke. Couples drink twenty-dollar “craft cocktails,” like somebody spent a year woodworking them into existence. Like nothing 3 is wrong. And for now, for them, I guess nothing is. But so far, ten houses have burned just two streets away from ours. I’d pray if I thought it’d help. Pray our house is spared. Pray Gigi’s not burned alive. Is useless prayer all that’s left? The sun goes down blood red over West LA. The merciless wind shifts. This is good news. Now pluto mansions in Bel Air will burn instead of Gigi. It’s terrible, but you can replace houses. At least that media mogul’s estate gets torched. Love that his com- pound burns as his lie factory for the adult diaper crowd denies Climate Chaos. What do you say to an old bloodsucker spreading fake news and poison around the world? Grasping all that fear money? Do you shout, “Go to hell!”? No, that would be redundant. Godzilla just broke the gates of hell and banged on our front door. Today’s Headline “Over 5% of California Burned in Last Five Years.” And fires alone pro- duced nine times more emissions than got reduced here last year. We’re full speed in reverse. – LATimes.com 4 Aug. 28 Typical I ’m sitting outside Nichols' office waiting for the tiny light to go off so I can enter “the sanctum,” as she calls it. As if therapy will help me deal with what’s happening. Hell, even my writing isn't helping today. At least they let us back in the house, soot covering everything... Gigi's hiding in my bedroom closet. When she bolts out, body wrig- gling like she’s about to explode, eighty-five pounds of pure muscle hip- checks me down, and then she’s scraping my face with her tongue. We all gather around hugging her and everybody gets teary except Dad. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Gigi.” I kiss her blockhead and can’t stop apol- ogizing. It’s amazing dogs don’t hold it against you, no matter what you do or how you let them down. And we did screw it up. It was pure luck the wind blew into Bel Air, roaring through brush as dry as matchsticks – and still burning in distant hills. We dodged a bullet. For now. But I can’t dodge damn therapy. Can’t cancel Nichols – it’s under 24 hours and she’s strict about these things, apocalypse be damned. At least Gigi’s here. Don’t ever want to leave her alone in that house again during fire season, which just gets longer every year. So, we wait together, ready for the session that Mom thinks I need. Gigi, mute, and calm as Buddha, sure doesn’t need therapy. And even though I’m anxious, I don’t want to be here either, with Nichols nodding and furiously scribbling notes. She always denies it, but I just know Nichols is writing a damn book. She still thinks my memory is cool, no matter how much I tell her it’s a curse to remember everything I’ve ever read and everything that ever happens to me. She still doesn't believe I envy “neurotypicals” their am- nesia – they get to forget their horrors. Not me. I'm stuck scrawling every detail in journals just to stay sane. Usually, that's okay. Writing is way better than Nichols for my mental health. But now, the more everybody lies and denies the state of the world, the more the stats flowing through my brain churn my guts. Today's log just makes me feel sick. I’m sure Nichols thinks it’s gross to be complaining about my gift. She’s right. But gifts are a two-way street, like the oil that heats our homes and suffocates the planet. Christ... Feeling scrambled today. A crack in my shell? Hope not. Guess after getting evacuated and nearly losing Gigi, I’m just not in the mood for Nichols pointing out how my lists and stats and obsesso climate spirals are “borderline OCD.” Okay, Old. Don't tell it to me... Tell it to the clueless rich people whose houses just burned down. Tell it to the heart-broken kid whose ancient tortoise died in the fire because he was too panicked to grab him. Tell it to Greta Thunberg, pleading the truth like an environmental Joan of Arc, nobody listening. She’s not "neurotypical" either. But just because you slap a label and dole out drugs doesn’t make us Zoomers wrong. Or crazy. I think I’ll quit Nichols. I don’t want to listen to her BS anymore. I don’t need a paid friend. I’m 18 now and don’t need – Damn. The light just went off. Today’s Headline "How Scientists Got Climate Change So Wrong." Misunderestimated, as another terrible president would say. Our country could use a dose of my "OCD" just to pay attention. – NYTimes.com
DA li možete da zamislite svet bez pčela? Norveška književnica Maja Lunde (1975) izmaštala je takav svet u svom bestseler romanu "Istorija pčela", koji je, u prevodu Radoša Kosovića, kod nas objavila izdavačka kuća "Odiseja"
As a kind of reminder of how much human civilization depends on the survival of these extraordinary creatures, Maya's novel follows three generations of beekeepers - past, present and future-and with images of family relationships speaks to the important, inextricable connection between man and nature.
"The History of bees" is Maya's first cli-fi novel for adults, after several books for children and teenagers. Immediately after its publication in 2015, it became an international bestseller and has been translated into 35 languages. The dark vision of our planet without bees is presented extremely convincingly,which is not surprising, since its author has studied this topic for many years. Environmentally exceptionally vindictive, Maya Lund, in many media interviews around the world, speaks with dedication about the importance of what kind of future we leave to our children. Her second book (from the planned climate Quartet), bluish, is due to appear at the upcoming Belgrade book fair in oktobre.
''I would like to come to Serbia and meet readers, if possible, this autumn. If not, I hope that there will be new opportunities to meet soon," she says, in an exclusive interview with Novosti, author of the Norwegian bestseller Maja Lunde
"The story of the bees" was published five years ago and became a bestseller. It seems that your apocalyptic vision of the world is more relevant today than ever before. Did you expect this reaction?
''I didn't expect anything, not even close to what happened. I can't say how grateful I am to everyone who has allowed my books to travel the world over the past five years. The case of the extinction of bees, known as the CCD syndrome or the death of bee colonies, would undoubtedly have been the focus of attention even without my book, because this is an extremely important topic. And if my novel has in any way contributed to raising awareness of this and other climate issues with a wider audience, as an author, I couldn't be happier.''
Your novels put climate fiction, which solves the problems of global warming, in a new category of cli-fi, respectively. Have environmental issues always been important to you?
"Yes, of course! I grew up with a poster against nuclear weapons hanging on the wall above the dining table. My parents talked to me about climate change and important social issues as a child, and I try my best to do the same with my three sons.''
"History of bees" is a cautionary, but also full of hope. Are you optimistic or pessimistic about our future?
- ''I'd say I'm a little of both. In preparation for this book, I read a lot of news and spent a lot of time on research. When you realize how much our planet in recent decades "tight" going in the wrong direction, inevitably is from time to time zapadneš in some kind of despair. Fortunately, in the world there are a lot of brilliant scientists, activists, thinkers, who tirelessly work to change our consciousness, and our future. And one thing that shows me there's light at the end of the tunnel is when I see that people are ready for big changes for the betterment of all of us.''
What do you think wars will be fought around in the future: water, food, race issues...?
- I believe that the lack of many natural resources as a result of climate change will lead to conflict in the future, as I described in the novel "Blueness". Because of a lack of basic resources, people become desperate and angry and very often look for someone to blame, and conflicts based on race or religion arise as a consequence.
An important part of the novel is the story of family relationships, parental expectations, and inheritance... Family and traditions have their own value in the modern world?
As a mother of three, how to "control" their parents ' expectations?
- Being a parent means facing up to our own shortcomings. Most parents wants their kids raise and raise in a perfect way. But as you know everyone who tried this, the difference between desire and ideals and the reality of everyday life is disappointing a big. During quarantine this is, it seems to me, it became more obvious, because we had to balance between the role of teachers and parents. Myself I like the biggest priority has caused that as a family the more time we spend together, and every year my husband and I separate for a few weeks when we'll be completely isolated from work. With his sons often talk about the world around us and what's going on, just like my parents did with me. Extremely I care about is my kids to talk and actively participate in all important issues.
You've written several books for children and teenagers. Whether the new generation really that different compared to the earlier?
- What makes them radically different is their "digital childhood" and all its good and bad sides. As a writer, it's important to me to try to offer an alternative to the screen, to write stories that are attractive and responsive and on paper. I think literature is valuable as a refuge from all the "online noise". At the same time, today's children and youth are extremely knowledgeable and sensitive to many important issues of the modern world.
Kao svojevrstan podsetnik na to koliko ljudska civilizacija zavisi od opstanka ovih izvanrednih bića, Majin roman prati tri generacije pčelara - prošlu, sadašnju i buduću, i uz prikaze porodičnih odnosa govori o važnoj, neraskidivoj vezi čoveka i prirode. "Istorija pčela" je Majin prvi roman za odrasle, posle nekoliko knjiga za decu i tinejdžere. Odmah po objavljivanju, 2015, postala je međunarodni bestseler i prevedena je na 35 jezika. Mračna vizija naše planete bez pčela prikazana je izuzetno uverljivo, što i ne čudi, jer je njena autorka godinama temeljno proučavala tu temu. Ekološki izuzetno osvećena, Maja Lunde u mnogobrojnim intervjuima za medije širom sveta s posvećenošću govori o tome da je važno kakvu budućnost ostavljamo svojoj deci. Njena druga knjiga (iz planiranog klimatskog kvarteta) "Plavetnilo" trebalo bi da se pojavi na predstojećem Beogradskom sajmu knjiga u oktobru. - Volela bih da dođem u Srbiju, da se upoznam sa čitaocima, ako to ove jeseni uopšte bude bilo moguće. Ako ne, nadam se da će ubrzo biti nove prilike za susret - kaže, u ekskluzivnom razgovoru za "Novosti", norveška bestseler autorka Maja Lunde.
Kao svojevrstan podsetnik na to koliko ljudska civilizacija zavisi od opstanka ovih izvanrednih bića, Majin roman prati tri generacije pčelara - prošlu, sadašnju i buduću, i uz prikaze porodičnih odnosa govori o važnoj, neraskidivoj vezi čoveka i prirode. "Istorija pčela" je Majin prvi roman za odrasle, posle nekoliko knjiga za decu i tinejdžere. Odmah po objavljivanju, 2015, postala je međunarodni bestseler i prevedena je na 35 jezika. Mračna vizija naše planete bez pčela prikazana je izuzetno uverljivo, što i ne čudi, jer je njena autorka godinama temeljno proučavala tu temu. Ekološki izuzetno osvećena, Maja Lunde u mnogobrojnim intervjuima za medije širom sveta s posvećenošću govori o tome da je važno kakvu budućnost ostavljamo svojoj deci. Njena druga knjiga (iz planiranog klimatskog kvarteta) "Plavetnilo" trebalo bi da se pojavi na predstojećem Beogradskom sajmu knjiga u oktobru. - Volela bih da dođem u Srbiju, da se upoznam sa čitaocima, ako to ove jeseni uopšte bude bilo moguće. Ako ne, nadam se da će ubrzo biti nove prilike za susret - kaže, u ekskluzivnom razgovoru za "Novosti", norveška bestseler autorka Maja Lunde.
"Istorija pčela" objavljena je pre pet godina i postala bestseler. Čini se da je vaša apokaliptična vizija sveta danas aktuelnija nego ikad pre. Da li ste očekivali takve reakcije? - Nisam očekivala ništa, ni približno onome što se desilo. Ne mogu vam reći koliko sam zahvalna svima koji su omogućili da moje knjige poslednjih pet godina proputuju ceo svet. Slučaj odumiranja pčela, poznat kao CCD sindrom ili sindrom propasti pčelinjih kolonija, nesumnjivo bi, i bez moje knjige, bio u fokusu, jer je to izuzetno važna tema. A ako je moj roman na bilo koji način uticao na podizanje svesti o ovom i drugim klimatskim pitanjima kod šire publike, kao autor ne mogu biti srećnija. Vaše romane stavljaju u novu kategoriju cli-fi, odnosno, klimatske fikcije koja se bavi izazovima globalnog zagrevanja. Da li su vam ekološke teme oduvek bile važne? - Da, apsolutno! Odrasla sam s posterom protiv nuklearnog oružja koji je bio okačen na zidu iznad trpezarijskog stola. Roditelji su sa mnom govorili o klimatskim promenama i važnim društvenim pitanjima još dok sam bila malo dete, i ja se trudim da to isto radim sa mojom trojicom sinova.
EPA Maja Lunde
"Istorija pčela" je upozoravajuća, ali i puna nade. Da li ste optimista ili pesimista po pitanju naše budućnosti? - Rekla bih da sam pomalo od oboje. Pripremajući se za ovu knjigu pročitala sam mnogo vesti i provela mnogo vremena na istraživanju. Kada shvatiš koliko naša planeta poslednjih decenija "čvrsto" ide u pogrešnom pravcu, neminovno je da s vremena na vreme zapadneš u neku vrstu očaja. Na sreću, na svetu ima mnogo briljantnih naučnika, aktivista, mislilaca, koji neumorno rade da promene našu svest, a tako i našu budućnost. A jedna stvar koja mi pokazuje da ima svetla na kraju tunela je kad vidim da su ljudi spremni na velike promene zarad boljitka svih nas.
Oko čega će se, po vašem mišljenju, voditi ratovi u budućnosti: vode, hrane, rasnih pitanja...? - Verujem da će oskudica mnogih prirodnih resursa, kao rezultat klimatskih promena, u budućnosti dovesti do konflikta kao što sam opisala u romanu "Plavetnilo". Zbog nedostatka osnovnih resursa ljudi postaju očajni i besni i vrlo često traže koga da okrive, a kao posledica dolaze sukobi zasnovani na rasnoj osnovi ili religiji. Važan deo romana je priča o porodičnim vezama, roditeljskim očekivanjima, nasleđu... Da li porodica i tradicija imaju svoju vrednost i u današnjem svetu? - Smatram da će te bliske veze biti zauvek ono što nas motiviše u životu i definiše kao osobe. Potreba da stvorite bolji život za svoju decu nije samo pitanje svesnog izbora, već duboko ukorenjena biološka potreba, bez obzira na to da li živimo u pećinama ili u urbanim višespratnicama.
Oda Berbi
Kao majka troje dece, kako "kontrolišete" svoja roditeljska očekivanja? - Biti roditelj znači suočiti se sa sopstvenim nedostacima. Većina roditelja želi da svoju decu podiže i vaspitava na savršen način. Ali kao što znaju svi koji su to pokušali, razlika između želja i ideala i realnosti svakodnevice je razočaravajuće velika. Tokom karantina ovo je, čini mi se, postalo očiglednije, jer smo morali da balansiramo između uloge učitelja i roditelja. Sebi sam kao najveći prioritet zadala da kao porodica što više vremena provodimo zajedno, kao i da svake godine suprug i ja odvojimo nekoliko nedelja kada ćemo se u potpunosti izolovati od posla. Sa svojim sinovima često razgovaram o svetu oko nas i onome šta se dešava, baš kao što su to moji roditelji činili sa mnom. Izuzetno mi je stalo do toga da moja deca razgovaraju i aktivno učestvuju u svim važnim pitanjima. Napisali ste nekoliko knjiga za decu i tinejdžere. Da li su nove generacije zaista toliko različite u poređenju sa onim ranijim? - Ono što ih čini radikalno drugačijim je njihovo "digitalno detinjstvo" i sve njegove dobre i loše strane. Kao piscu, važno mi je da pokušam da ponudim alternativu ekranu, da pišem priče koje su atraktivne i prijemčive i na papiru. Mislim da je književnost dragocena kao utočište od silne "onlajn buke". U isto vreme, današnja deca i omladina su izuzetno upućeni i osetljivi na mnoga važna pitanja savremenog sveta.
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The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott
A book review by Georgia Brough in Australia
Tuesday 7 July, 2020
In a mountain forest, soldiers trample a hermit’s garden, smashing her crops and tearing down her traps. Led by a ruthless young lieutenant, they’re hunting for a rain heron; a powerful, mythical bird made of water that can control the weather in what is a climate-ravaged, dying landscape. Ren, the hermit, knows where to find it. But its capture comes at a terrible cost, and her life will be forever intertwined with the young lieutenant’s life.
Author Robbie Arnott’s writing is as refreshing as a wash of rain; no-one is producing fiction quite like him. Of course, it is easy to compare him to fellow Tasmanian author Richard Flanagan, but it is perhaps often reductive: Arnott’s lyrical writing is saturated with mystery and old magic, more like a fairy tale than a Richard Flanagan impression, and undeniably unique enough to stand alone ‒ commendable for a young novelist.
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The Rain Heronreads like a fable, exquisite and melancholy, and Arnott’s love of landscape and nature is the most striking aspect of the novel.
In fact, Arnott’s writing is strongest and most unique when it is at its most surreal.
The passages moving characters or plot from A to B have a tendency to read flat, and the prose, while wildly lyrical and evocative in places, is overwrought within these more traditional structures.
The change in perspective between Ren and the lieutenant is almost disorienting, and the duality and contrast of these two characters at the heart of the novel, both victims of the landscape and harshness of this strange new world but with wildly different responses to it, would benefit from further development. These technical problems emphasise that Arnott is instead at his strongest when freed from the constraints of more procedural prose, structures and dialogue: when he is instead put to use evoking nature, or detailing the delicate dance between the natural world and mankind.
In blunt terms, he’s best when he’s ‘weird’.
The Rain Heron is a powerful allegory of not just man’s relationship to nature, but nature’s relationship to man. What happens when the natural order and balance of the world is abused, disrespected? What happens when we take and take, but give nothing back? What happens when we overstay our welcome? Sadly, we know the answer to these questions all too well.
The titular bird is the vehicle through which Arnott explores these themes; a poignant allegory for the storm of nature, a reminder that it cannot and should not be contained. The Rain Heron is a cli-fi novel disguised as a folk tale. Arnott should be commended for this rare skill of blending what feels like timeless mythology with a dire warning for our future. The Rain Heronby Robbie Arnott Publisher: text Publishing ISBN: 9781922268778 Format: Paperback Categories: Climate Fiction, Australian Pages: 288 Release Date: 2 June 2020 RRP: $29.99
Dünyada siyasal arenada ve bilim dünyasında kıpırdanma olduğunda hemen akabininde sinemada bunun yansımaları görülmüştür ve görülmeye de devam etmektedir. Sinema, aynı zamanda sanatsal içeriğini genişletmesine de fayda sağlayan iklim krizi konusunu, kendini faydalı yönde araçsallaştırarak ele almış ve farkındalığın artmasında önemli rol oynamıştır. İklim krizi, çevresel felaketler ve küresel ısınma, soğuma ile ilgilenen filmlerin 70’lerden itibaren beyazperdede yerlerini aldığını ve bu Hollywood filmlerinin insanlığın geleceğine dair kaygı ve korkuyla baktığını söyleyebiliriz. İşte tüm bu çevre sorunları ve iklim krizi ile ilgili filmleri Cli-fi üst başlığında toplamalıyız.
Cli-fi mucidi Danny Bloom Cli-fi üst başlığını biraz açmak gerek. Geçen haftaki yazımı okuyarak bana geri dönüş yapan, Cli-fi kelimesini 2000’lerin başlarında icat eden Amerikalı bağımsız yazar Danny Bloom ile tanıştım ve umarım yakında bir röportaj da gerçekleştireceğim kendisi ile. “Cli” ingilizce climate (iklim) kelimesinin ilk üç harfi ile “fi” ingilizcede fiction (kurgu) kelimesinin iki harfi ile üretilmiştir ve iklim-kurgu anlamına gelen bir kelime oluşturulmuş. Sci-fi yani bilim kurguya göndermesi de bulunmaktadır. Cli-fi, iklim krizi ve küresel ısınma endişeleriyle ilgilenen veya içinde iklim krizinin veya ona işaret eden donelerin geçtiği roman ve filmler için kullanılan önemli bir terim. Bir romanı veya filmi cli-fi olarak tanımlamak için ana temasının iklim krizi olması koşulu da aranmaz. Birçok bilimkurgu filmi iklim ile ilgili konulara sadece değinir, Cli-fi’da özellikle iklim değişikliği endişeleri hissedilir. Aslında kabaca, bilimkurgu ve cli-fi yakın akrabadırlar.
Edebiyatta Cli-fi İklim meselesi John Steinbeck’in “Gazap Üzümleri” (1939) eseri için de önemli ölçüde söz konusudur. Romanın açılış bölümünde Haziran ayının sonuna kadar devam eden kuraklıktan, toz fırtınalarından bahsedilir. Ekolijik ve tarımsal felaket ekonomik çöküşün yaşandığı Büyük Buhran dönemi ile iç içedir ki zaten Orta batılı çiftçileri iklim göçüne zorlayan en büyük etken bu felaketlerdir. J. G. Ballard’ın “The Burning World” (1964) ve John Brunner’ın “Sheep Look Up” (1972) kitaplarında da bilim insanları insan yapımı iklim değişikliğini tam olarak ortaya koymadan önce çevresel felaketlerle yıkılan dünyaları tasvir ederler. Margaret Atwood’un distopik üçlemesi Antilop ve Flurya (2003), Tufan Zamanı (2009) and MaddAddam (2013) ise Cli-fi türünü keşfetmek için en yerinde örnekler olacaktır. Yakın gelecekte geçen bu üçlemede salgınlar, seller ve genetik mühendisliğin bugün bildiğimiz dünyayı tamamen değiştirmiş olduğunu görürüz. Sinemada Cli-fi Geçen hafta Soylent Green filmini örneklemiştim. 70’ler Hollywood filmlerinin insanlığın geleceğine endişe ile baktığı bir diğer önemli Cli-fi örneği Robert Altman’ın Quintet isimli 1979 yapımı post-apokaliptik filmidir. Bilimsel gelişmeler sonucunda 1970’lerin iklim krizi konusundaki haklı korkusunu gördüğümüz bu filmde farklı olarak küresel soğumanın sonuçlarını görmekteyiz. Daha önce de söylediğim gibi ana temanın sadece iklim değişikliği ile ilgili olması lazım değildir, bir romanı, bir filmi Cli-fi olarak tanımlamak için. Mesela Blade Runner (1982) filmindeki Los Angeles tasvirinde sürekli yağmur yağıyor olması tamamen Cli-fi özelliğidir. Yoğun nüfus, küreselleşme, iklim değişikliği ve genetik mühendisliği gibi önemli konulara da değinen film tam anlamıyla bu türe aittir. Christopher Nolan’ın Interstellar filmi de bu açıdan bakıldığında net bir şekilde Cli-fi’dır. Uzak bir gelecekte geçen filmde küresel ölçekte ürünlerin yanması ve Dust Bowl yani şiddetli toz fırtınalarının ekolojik ve tarımsal verdiği zararın boyutlarını görürüz. Dünya’nın tüm gıda kaynaklarının yok olduğu bu dönemde bilim insanları, insanlığın hayatta kalabileceği yeni bir gezegen bulmak için galaksideki solucan deliğinden geçmeye çalıştıklarını izleriz. Bir diğer Cli-fi örneği olarak Roland Emmerich tarafından yönetilen 2012 isimli filmdir. Bu felaket filminde, tüm dünyada volkanik patlamalar ve şiddetli depremler yaşanmaya başlamış olduğunu ve güneş fırtınalarında gelen radyasyonun yeryüzünü tehdit ettiğini görürüz. Bu şekilde izlediğimiz filmleri kümeleyecek olursak ciddi sayıda Cli-fi filmi olduğunu göreceğizdir. 3D animasyon filmi Wall-e filmi çevrenin kötü kullanımı yüzünden yaşanamaz hale gelmiş olan harap haldeki kirli bir dünyada hikâyesine başlar. Mad Max: Fury Road dünyanın çölleştiği, susuzluk probleminin zirvede olduğu çökmüş medeniyetlerin dünyasında Yeşil Diyarlar’ı arayan Furiosa’yı bizlere izletir. Danny Boyle Sunshine filminde Güneş ışınlarının Dünya’yı ısıtmaya yetersiz kaldığı uzak bir zamanda bizlere bir hikâye anlatır. İngiliz casus filmi Kingsman: Gizli Servis’te varlıklı bir villain (kötü adam) gezegeni kirlilik, nüfüs yoğunluğu ve iklim değişikliğinden kurtarmak için insanları yok etmeye hazırlanmaktadır. Daha sayısız örnekle detaylandırılabilinecek bir başlık Cli-fi, umarım bu son derece kapsamlı hatta disiplinlerarası konuyu bir öğrencimiz tez konusu olarak seçer ve çalışır.
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The Climate Crisis and Its Roots in Cinema When there is a stir in the political arena and the scientific world in the world, the reflections of this have been seen in the cinema and continue to be seen immediately. Cinema has also addressed the issue of climate crisis, which also helps it expand its artistic content, by instrumentalizing itself in a beneficial way and has played an important role in raising awareness. We can say that films dealing with climate crisis, environmental disasters, and global warming and cooling have taken place on the screen since the 1970s and these Hollywood films are concerned with the anxiety and fear of the future of humanity. Here are all these environmental issues and the films about the climate crisis, we should collect the films under the heading of Cli-fi.
Cli-fi coiner and promoter since 2011 Danny Bloom Let's talk cli-fi, shall we? I met the American writer Danny Bloom online, who contacted me after reading last week's part 1 in the series of my writing and who told me he started promoting the word Cli-fi in the 2011 and I hope to have an interview with him soon. "Cli" is produced with the first three letters of the word "climate" and "fi" is produced with two letters of the word fiction (fiction) in English, and a word meaning climate-fiction is created. There is also reference to science fiction. Cli-fi is an important term for novels and movies that deal with the climate crisis and global warming concerns, or in which the climate crisis or the frosts that point to it. In order to define a novel or a movie as a cli-fi, it is not necessary to have a main theme as a climate crisis. Many sci-fi movies only touch on climate-related issues, especially in Cli-fi concerns about climate change. In fact, they are roughly close to sci-fi and cli-fi.
Cli-fi in Literature The climate issue is also important for John Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath" (1939). In the opening part of the novel, drought and dust storms are mentioned that continue until the end of June. The ecological and agricultural disaster is intertwined with the Great Depression period in which the economic collapse was experienced, which is the biggest factor that forces the Midwest farmers to migrate to the climate. In the books of J. G. Ballard's "The Burning World" (1964) and John Brunner's "Sheep Look Up" (1972), scientists depict worlds destroyed by environmental disasters before fully revealing man-made climate change.
Margaret Atwood's dystopian trilogy Antelope and Flurya (2003), Flood Time (2009) and MaddAddam (2013) will be the best examples to discover the Cli-fi genre. In this trilogy in the near future, we find outbreaks, floods and genetic engineering have completely changed the world we know today. Cli-fi in cinema
I sampled the Soylent Green movie in part 1 of this series. Another important Cli-fi example of 7190's Hollywood films that worried about the future of humanity is Robert Altman's 1979 post-apocalyptic movie called Quintet. As a result of scientific developments, we see the results of global cooling in this film, where we see the right fear of the 1970s on the climate crisis. As I said before, the main theme does not only have to be about climate change, but to describe a novel, a movie as Cli-fi. For example, the fact that it is constantly raining in the Los Angeles depiction in the movie Blade Runner (1982) is entirely Cli-fi. The film, which also touches on important topics such as dense population, globalization, climate change and genetic engineering, literally belongs to this genre. Christopher Nolan's Interstellar movie is clearly Cli-fi from this point of view. In the film in the distant future, we see the extent of ecological and agricultural damage of globally burning products and Dust Bowl, that is, severe dust storms. In this era, when all the world's food sources are destroyed, scientists watch that they are trying to go through the wormhole in the galaxy to find a new planet in which humanity can survive. Another example of Cli-fi is the 2012 movie directed by Roland Emmerich. In this disaster movie, we see that volcanic eruptions and severe earthquakes have begun to occur all over the world and the radiation coming from solar storms is threatening the earth. If we cluster the movies we watch in this way, we will see that there are a significant number of Cli-fi movies. The 3D animated movie Wall-e begins its story in a dilapidated dirty world that has become uninhabitable due to the misuse of the environment. Mad Max: Fury Road makes us watch Furiosa looking for the Green Realms in the world of collapsed civilizations where the world is deserted and the problem of thirst is at its peak. In the movie Danny Boyle Sunshine, he tells us a story in a distant time when the sun's rays are not enough to heat the Earth. British spy movie Kingsman: In the Secret Service, a wealthy villain (villain) is preparing to destroy people to save the planet from pollution, population density and climate change. Cli-fi, which can be elaborated with numerous examples, hopefully a student will choose and study this highly comprehensive and even interdisciplinary subject as a thesis topic.
