Module 2: CONVENTIONAL AND 21ST CENTURY LITERARY

GENRE
21ST CENTURY Lesson 1: CONVENTIONAL AND 21ST CENTURY
LIT. LITERARY GENRE

Literature reinvents itself as it changes its form to adapt to the changing times and changing
trends; especially for the young people like you. The need to express self gives birth to literature and
humanity never got contented on their attempt to express themselves resulting to new genres.

21st Century Literature

21st Century Literature refers to new literary work created within the last decade. It is written by
contemporary authors in which may deal with current themes/ issues and reflects a technological culture.
It often breaks traditional writing rules.

21st Century Reader

A 21st Century Reader grew up using technology as a primary learning tool. He is capable of
navigating and interpreting digital formats and media messages. He also possesses literacy skills, which
include technological abilities such as keyboarding, internet navigation, interpretation of technological
speak, ability to communicate and interpret coded language and decipher graphics.
CONVENTIONAL LITERARY GENRES-
• POETRY- is one of the earliest genres of literature. It was either recited or sang back to
prehistoric times to call for help from a deity, narrate a hero’s life and victories tell about the love
story of their rulers, or describe someone who inspires them. It is an imaginative awareness of
experience expressed through meaning, sound and rhythmic language choices to evoke an
emotional response. It has been known to employ meter and rhyme. The very nature of poetry as
an authentic and individual mode of expression makes it nearly impossible to define.
• FICTION- is literature created from the imagination, not presented as fact, though it may be
based on a true story or situation. Types of literature in the fiction include the novel, short story
and novella.

• NON-FICTION- is based on facts and the author’s opinion about a subject. The purpose of non-
fiction writing is to inform and sometimes to persuade. Its examples are biographies, articles from
textbooks and magazines and newspapers.
• DRAMA- is a composition in prose or verse presenting in dialogue or pantomime a story
involving conflict more contrast of character, especially on intended to be acted on a stage: a play.
It may be any situation or series of events having vivid, emotional, conflicting or striking
interest.
21ST CENTURY LITERATURE GENRES

• ILLUSTRATED NOVEL
• Story through text and illustrated images
• 50% 0f the narrative is presented without words
• The reader must interpret the images to comprehend the story completely.
• Textual portions are presented in traditional form.
• Some illustrated novels may contain no text at all.
• Span all genres.
 • Examples include The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick and The Arrival by Shaun
Tan.

• DIGI-FICTION
• Triple Media Literature
• Combines three media: book, movie/video and internet website
• To get the full story, students must engage in navigation, reading, viewing in all
three forms.
• Patrick Carman’s Skeleton Creek and Anthony Zuiker’s Level 26 are examples.

• GRAPHIC NOVEL
• Narrative in comic book formats
• Narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using a comic form.
• The term is employed broadly manner, encompassing non-fiction works and thematically
linked short stories as well as fictional stories across a number of genres.
• Archie Comics by John Goldwater and illustrator, Bob Montana, is a good example.

• MANGA
• Japanese word for comics
• It is used in the English-speaking world as a generic term for all comic books and graphic
novels originally published in Japan.
• Considered as an artistic and storytelling style.
• Ameri-manga- sometimes used to refer to comics created by American artists in manga style.
• Shonen- Boy’s Manga (Naruto, Bleach, One Piece)
• Shojo- Girl’s Manga (Sailormoon)
• Seinen- Men’s Manga (Akira)
• Josei- Women’s Manga (Loveless, Paradise Kiss)
• Kodomo- Children’s Manga (Doraemon, Hello Kitty)

• DOODLE FICTION
• Literary presentation where the author incorporates doodle writing and drawings and
handwritten graphics in place of the traditional font.
• Drawing enhances the story, often adding humorous elements
• Examples include The Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney and Timmy Failure by Stephan
Pastis.
• TEXT-TALK NOVELS
• Blogs, email and IM format narratives
• Stories told almost entirely in dialogue simulating social network exchanges.

• CHICK LIT or CHICK LITERATURE

• Is genre fiction which addresses issues of modern womanhood, often humorously and
lightheartedly.
• Chick Lit typically features a female protagonist whose femininity is heavily thermalizing in
the plot.
 • Scarlet Bailey’s The night before Christmas and Miranda Dickinson’s It started with a Kiss
are examples of this.

• FLASH FICTION
• Is a style of fictional literature of extreme brevity
• There is no widely accepted definition of the length and category. It could range from word to
a thousand.

• SIX-WORD FLASH FICTION

• Ernest Hemingway: For sale: baby socks, never worn.
• Margaret Atwood: Longed for him. Got him, Shit.

• CREATIVE NON-FICTION
• Also known as literary non-fiction or narrative non-fiction
• A genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate
narratives.
• Contrasts with other non-fiction, such as technical writing or journalism, which is also rooted
in accurate fact, but is not primarily written in service to its craft.
• As a genre, creative non-fiction is still relatively young and is only beginning to be
scrutinized with the same critical analysis given to fiction and poetry.
• 1000 Gifts by Ann Voscamp and Wind, Sand, and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupery are
examples.

• SCIENCE FICTION
• Is a genre of speculative fiction dealing with imaginative concepts such as futuristic science
and technology, space travel, time travel, faster than light travel, a parallel universe and extra-
terrestrial life.
• Often explores the potential consequences of scientific and other innovations and has been
called a “literature of ideas”.
• Examples include Suzanne Collins’ Mockingjay and Sarah Maas’ Kingdom of Ash.

• BLOG
• A weblog, a website containing short articles called posts that are changed regularly.
• Some blogs are written by one person containing their own opinions, interests and
experiences, while others are written by different people.

• HYPER POETRY
• Digital poetry that uses links using hypertext mark-up
• It can either involved set words, phrases, lines, etc. that are presented in variable order but sit
on the page much as traditional poetry does, or it can contain parts of the poem that move and
mutate.
• It is usually found online, through CD-ROM and diskette versions exist. The earliest
 examples date to no later than the mid-1980’s.

LATEST GENRES EMERGING IN PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

• Children Literature- made a paradigm shift as it now includes contemporary stories that are no
longer didactical in presentation. Today, many storybooks discuss controversial and sensitive
issues in the context of the child experience. These include bullying, death, illnesses, calamities,
sexuality, politics, and child abuse. Writers such as Luis Gatmaitan, Eugene Evasco, Rhandee
Garlitos, and Sergio Bumatay III, among others, have taken this challenge of producing works
that talk about contemporary issues and empowering the child. Writers work actively with
illustratos such as the people from Ang Illustrador ng Kabataan (Ang INK).

• Speculative Fiction- this is an umbrella term in the country’s literature that includes all genres of
horror, fantasy, science fiction, magical realism, and other nonrealist genres. The Philippines is
known to have stories about the unknown for as long as it can be remembered, and speculative
fiction explores these kinds of stories.

• Avant-Garde Poetry- These are poems that push the boundaries of what is expected as the norm.
In that sense, these kinds of poems experiment with form, phrasing, ideas, imagery, and the like.
Some poets who have written avant-garde poems are Angelo Suarez, Paolo Manalo, Conchita
Cruz, Arbeen Acuna, and Marc Gabba.

• Contemporary Essay-is unrestricted and explores diverse topics such as dysfunctional families,
LGBT issues, terrorism, religion, and/or faith. It is a far cry from the common topics of previous
essays, because young writers nowadays are willing to voice their opinions about Filipino society
through writing.

MODULE 2 (LESSON 3)
ANSWER SHEET IN 21st CENTURY LITERATURE FROM THE
PHILIPPINES AND THE WORLD
NAME: Jan Lester Diaz SECTION: OLIC

GENERAL DIRECTION: Write all your answers here. Detach and submit this part to your teacher.

ACTIVITY 1: Reflect on what you have learned by answering the questions below.

1. What are the conventional literary genres?

The conventional literary genres are Poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and drama

2. What are the common characteristics of conventional literary genres?

The common characteristics of conventional literary genres are poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and drama are
all examples of conventional literary works, each with its own style, structure, subject matter, and use of
figurative language. The genre foreshadows what will happen in the piece.

3. What are the common characteristics of modern literary genres?

The common characteristics of modern literary genres are Individualism, Experimentation, Symbolism,
Absurdity, and Formalism are all characteristics of modern literature.

4. What is the difference between conventional and modern literary genres?

The difference between conventional and contemporary literary genres is that conventional literature
follows a rigorous set of norms, but modernized writing is more flexible, and it sometimes combines
many aspects of abstract work to create a more original and artistic piece.

ACTIVITY 2

Write the similarities and differences of the Doodle Fiction, Manga and Graphic Novel using the
Compare and Contrast Graphic Organizer.

DIFFERENCE IN TERMS OF SIMILARITIES DIFFERENCE IN TERMS OF

STRUCTURE
differences in Manga and Graphic
Novels are very little since both are in
comic book style. Both of which have
panels to separate a scene from
another scene. In terms of text, they
vary their language and structure in
the formality of the pieces. Basically,
the most obvious difference in
structure is in contrast to Doodle
Fictions. Doodle Fictions follow a
novel or story book type of narration,
unlike the Manga and Graphic Novels.
Doodle fictions show both text and
pictures in a way like articles are
written, while, the comic book styles
don't.
Drawings, illustration, and graphics
are used in all of these disciplines to
tell stories. This is merely a summary
of each genre. Doodle Fictions make
use of doodles to create a more
hilarious and/or engaging impact,
whereas Manga and Graphic Novels
are both written in a comic book
manner. To be even more clear, each
of these styles includes photographs
that efficiently captivate readers. All
of these items were created in the
twenty-first century. Without the use
of a computer or other digital
mechanisms, each genre would not
exist.Manga and Graphic Novels, as
previously mentioned, are both in the
ELEMENTS
Although they share many elements
in common, the most notable
differences are in visual style and
storytelling. Handwritten elements
are used to write the text and draw in
doodle fictions. Manga use a very
specific Japanese art style to draw
the graphics, also they are read from
right to left. Elements in Manga
always pertain, exclusively, to the
Japanese. These Japanese elements
include culture, the people,
environment, behavior, and the likes.
Whereas, the Doodle Fictions and
Graphic Novels can be from any
country. Lastly, Graphic novels use a
very Americanized art style in
 comic book style. For readers to drawing the comic, and must be read
understand quickly, they use panels from left to right.
with illustrations and text. Doodle
Fictions and Graphic Novels don't
have to be from a specific country to
be labeled as such; as long as the
literary work contains elements of or
defines itself as these genres, it can
be labeled as such.

ACTIVITY 3: VENN DIAGRAM

Compare and contrast these modern literary genres.

GENRE SIMILARITIES DIFFERENCES
Nearly all of the stories are given in
dialogue, emulating social network
interactions. Narratives in the form of
blogs, emails, and instant messages
TEXT TALK NOVEL (IM)

The similarities between Text-talk

Novel, Blog, and Hyper Poetry are
that they're all part of the current
literary canon and rely on the
internet for access.
Both a blog and a text-talk book are
texts that are accessed over the
internet.
Text-talk and Hyper Poetry are both
BLOG
created in a digital media using fixed
words, phrases, lines, and other
elements.
Both Hyper Poetry and Blog are
Some blogs are written by a single
individual and contain that person's
unique thoughts, hobbies, and
experiences, while others are
published by a group of people. A
weblog is a website that features
small articles called posts that are
updated on a regular basis.
 examples of modern literacy that may It's normally available online, but CD-
be accessed online. ROM and floppy copies are also
available. Hypertext mark-up and
links are used to create digital poetry.
It can either consist of fixed words,
phrases, lines, and so on that are
HYPER POETRY given in a random order yet sit on the
page like traditional poetry, or it
might consist of moving and
transforming portions of the poem.

ACTIVITY 4:
A. READ & ANALYZE
DEAR CITY
BY CONCHITINA CRUZ

Permit us to refresh your memory: what comes from heaven is always a blessing, the
enemy is not the rain. Rain is the subject of prayer, the kind gesture of saints. Dear City, explain your
irreverence: in you, rain is a visitor with nowhere to go. Where is the ground that knows only the love of
water? What are the passageways to your heart? Pity the water that stays and rises on the streets, pity the
water that floods into houses, so dark and filthy and heavy with rats and dead leaves and plastic. How
ashamed water is to be what you have made it. What have you done to its beauty, its graceful body in
pictures of oceans, its clear face in a glass? We walk home and cannot see our feet in the flood. We forget
to thank the gods for their kindness. We look for someone to blame and turn to you, wretched city,
because we are men and women of honor, we feed our children three meals a day, we never miss an
election. The only explanation is you, dear city. This is the end of our discussion. There is no other culprit.
Question
1. What can you say about the nature of this piece by Cruz? What do you think is its form and genres?
The nature of Conchitina Cruz's poem "Dear City, concentrates on a specific aspect of our society's
complicated situation, is a means for reminding readers of the society's issues.
2. What is the message of the literary piece?
The message of the literary piece is the city's own children do not just turn their backs on her; instead,
they obstinately fling stones at their own city, blaming her for her flaws and not even pondering for a
moment that these problems were imposed by them. In other words, the city's residents robbed it of its
innocence. The poem's heightened use of language, particularly the vivid imagery it provides, is enough
to paint a picture of a city disintegrating, succumbing to wounds inflicted by its own people who refuse to
recognize their own share of responsibility for how their city has come to be the way it is.

B. Express the meaning of the literary text “Dear City” using one of the genres below and post your work
on your Facebook page with the hashtag #21stcenturyliterature. Use the rubric as your guide.
 • 30-word flash fiction

• 4-panel comic

• One-page doodle fiction

RUBRIC:
10 8 7 5
Structure Presents all elements Exhibits at least Exhibits at least two Does not present elements
and correct structure three elements and elements and correct and correct structure of the
of the chosen genre. correct structure of structure of the chosen genre.
the chosen genre. chosen genre.
Creativity The story is The story is The story is in The story is not
communicated in communicated in interesting ways, but communicated in surprising
surprising and interesting ways. not related to the and interesting ways.
unusual ways. topic.

Mechanics No errors in One to two errors in Three to five errors Six or more errors in
punctuation, punctuation, in punctuation, punctuation, capitalization,
capitalization, and capitalization, and capitalization, and and spelling errors.
spelling. spelling errors. spelling errors.

ASSESSMENT: MATCHING TYPE

DIRECTION: Identify the literary genres featured in each item. Write the letters of your answers on the
space provided.
COLUMN A COLUMN B
_G_1. Stories may contain no words at all, only illustration. A. Digi-Fiction

_H_2. Japanese Word for Comics B. Science Fiction

_D_3. A combination of doodle writing and drawing. C. Non-Fiction

_I_4. Addresses issues of modern womanhood. D. Doodle Fiction

_J_5. A fictional literature of extreme brevity. E. Text-Talk Novels

_C_6. Uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narrative. F. Graphic Novel
_B_7. Deals with imaginative concepts such as futuristic science and G. Illustrated Novel
technology, space travel, time travel.
_F_8. Type of text combining words and image and commonly refers as a H. Manga
complete story presented as a book. 
_E_9. Stories told almost completely in dialogue.  I. Chick Literature
 
_A_10. Triple Media Literature F. Flash Fiction