In literature classes and other similar settings, the fiction read there is often referred to as “literary fiction” to distinguish it from common fiction, or “genre fiction.” But what does that distinction mean? Who decides what is literary and what is not?
According to Wikipedia, literary fiction is “fiction that is regarded as having literary merit, as distinguished from most commercial or ‘genre’ fiction.”
What does “literary merit” mean, exactly? It is a seemingly arbitrary and subjective description of novels that book critics and the academic community place on certain works of fiction because these certain works of fiction are written by well-known authors who have produced work worthy of “literary merit” before.
Works of “genre fiction” are rarely part of literature classes because they do not have “literary merit.” I am not suggesting that students should read “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” after finishing Homer’s “Odyssey” in Global Literature. I am merely suggesting that books like “Harry Potter” and other popular fiction are worthy of note because of the impact they have on society. There is obviously something to learn there, and if we take a look, we may find something to inform our readings of “literary fiction.”
If more lives are affected by “Harry Potter” than “To Kill a Mockingbird,” does that fact not give “Harry Potter” more “literary merit” than “To Kill a Mockingbird”? Distinguishing between “literary fiction” and “genre fiction” becomes a statement of “this is good and this is not.” So I propose that we get rid of the distinction entirely. It is along the same lines as high culture and low culture. It becomes somewhat classist — in the sense that we assume only wealthy or well-off people enjoy Shakespeare.
Instead, I propose that we label fiction by what it is based on. The textbook for my fiction writing class uses the terms “plot-based” and “character-based.” If we refer to fiction by these labels and let our readings — rather than the academic community and book critics — determine what is worthy of the classroom and what is not, we take a step forward. Using the terms character-based and plot-based makes more sense because it does not create the need for exceptions to the terms like “The Martian,” which is character-based science fiction.
A work of fiction’s merit should be based on what the reader gets out of it, not who wrote it or what “The New Yorker” says about it. It should be about what makes you think and what sticks with you. That way, any book can have merit to anybody. But if we continue to discount “genre fiction” as having no place in the academic community, we will continue to miss out on so much good writing — and so much that could be learned.
