Kmart realism, also termed "low-rent tragedies",The Art of Editing - Google Books (pg.87) is a form of minimalist literature found in American short fiction that became popular in the 1980s.Sodowsky, Roland. Studies in Short Fiction; Fall96, Vol. 33 Issue 4, p529, 529-540Up From Kmart - The New York TimesTwentieth-Century and Contemporary American Literature in Context (pgs.656-57)A Study Guide for Raymond Carver's "Popular Mechanics" - Google Books
Style
These short stories "represent and reproduce the disintegration of public life [and] the colonization of private life by consumer capitalism".Clark, Miriam Marty. Studies in Short Fiction; Spring95, Vol. 32 Issue 2, 147-159.
Background The precursors of Kmart realism include the so-called trailer park fiction, Diet-Pepsi minimalism, and hick chic.
Author Tao Lin described Kmart realism as being "at its “height” maybe in the mid to late-80’s. Frederick Barthelme had 20-30 stories published in the New Yorker, Mary Robison also had many stories in the New Yorker, and Gordon Lish was publishing other people’s books and stories as an editor at Alfred A. Knopf and Esquire around then."In Which Your Guide To Fine Realist Literature Is Tao Lin - Books - This Recording
Criticism A related definition describes the genre as American fiction that is characterized, among other things, by a fascination with consumption venues and brand names.Adcult USA - Google Books (pg.206) John Gardner, in critical works such as On Moral Fiction, criticized this style using the term "brand-name fiction writers" while Tom Wolfe had similar criticisms as well.Tom Wolfe's "Billion-Footed Beast" casts a long shadow on 2000s fiction - Slate Magazine
Notable authors Frederick Barthelme, brother of postmodern novelist Donald Barthelme, is noted for his use of Kmart realism in stories such as "Safeway" (The New Yorker, 1981). In addition, Rachel Page has written works that follow the genre of "dirty realism".
Other writers noted for this style also include Ann Beattie, Raymond Carver, Richard Ford, Bobbie Ann Mason, Mary Robison, Joy Williams. Mason, for instance, often writes about working-class characters in rural Kentucky who do their laundry at laundromats, and subject matters that are similar to those favored by the aforementioned writers such as Dairy Queens, grocery stores, and third-rate motels.
List of Kmart realist books Mall (Eric Bogosian, 2000) The Pheasant (Raymond Carver, 1982) The Quick & the Dead (Joy Williams, 2000) In Country (Bobbie Ann Mason, 1985) Where I'm Calling From (Raymond Carver, 1988) Shiloh and Other Stories (Bobbie Ann Mason, 1982) Escapes (Joy Williams, 1990) A low-end chain that spawned a literary genre - Chicago TribuneThe King of Shopping Mall Surrealism - The MillionsAnalysis of Joy Williams's Health - Literary Theory and CriticismMining the vargaries of rural America. Bobbie Ann Mason's characters are 'just plain folks' like her - Christian Science MonitorElusive Consumption - Google Books (pg.60)
In other media The 2010 film Blue Valentine was described by one critic as "easily located at the intersection of romance film and indie-handheld-camera-Kmart-realism".Blue Valentine - The Santa Barbara Independent
The alternative rock band The Spirit of the Beehive is also described as Kmart realism.Spirit of the Beehive: ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH Album Review|Pitchfork
See also Postmodernist literature Pop culture fiction New Sincerity Working class culture Criticism of capitalism
References