tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321866289290673668.post3548892906228831555..comments2016-12-28T09:20:53.631-06:00Comments on PHAT Fiction: Is it Street Lit or Urban Fiction?Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03883555913185789716noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321866289290673668.post-73074007598162251362010-12-28T14:06:02.096-06:002010-12-28T14:06:02.096-06:00I totally get where Vanessa is coming from, and ag...I totally get where Vanessa is coming from, and agree that it is a good thing to see contemporary Street Lit in context with other urban fictions, indepedent of race or place. The problem I have - in my library anyway - is that my patrons are using the term 'urban fiction,' and quite frequently using it when asking about street fiction and urban erotica. "Urban Fiction" is a label, and as a label it isn't any truer to its referrents than, say, "graphic novels" or "comics" are to some really depressing piece of graphic memoir, say. But if that is what my patrons are using, then that is what I'm going to use. Why are they using 'urban fiction?' - I'm not sure - it may have something to do with the outsize success of the Urban Books imprint. <br /><br />Of course it is all evolving right along, and things may swing the other way. It may also be that there are regional differences, and that people calling things 'urban fiction' is a West Coast thing, or even a Northwest thing - we do tend towards the nicey-nice. And I too have problems with 'urban fiction' as it is a blanket term and seems to be getting applied like magic glitter dust by publishers in an attempt to cash in on the phenomenon. By itself it is pretty meaningless, and I need to clarify with patrons what they're specifically looking for, which might range far afield from street lit or erotica. However, I've never had a patron ask for 'urban fiction' when what they were looking for was Stephen Crane or Charles Dickens or Ed McBain.<br /><br />It's problematic, for sure.guybrarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15923347207625832869noreply@blogger.com