Thursday, February 4, 2016

• cli-fi bullets -- 100 "ruminations" (rumes) on what Cli-Fi is and where it is headed (literary and philosophical zen-like rumes)

• cli-fi bullets

100 "ruminations" (rumes) on what Cli-Fi is and where it is headed (literary and philosophical zen-like rumes)
 
• 100 short zen-like ruminations on literary and philosophical aspects of ''cli-fi''
by the man who coined the term
 
 #CliFi hashtag on Twitter

SAMPLES:

[Cli-fi bullets: random thoughts about cli-fi in 140 characters (more or less) that first appeared on Twitter]

Cli-fi literary theory does not exist yet. It is that new. We are flying by the seat of our pants. The future beckons.

Cli-fi tries to answer philosophical questions about the fate of our species. There is no canon, no agenda, no school. You write it, we read it.

•  Cli-fi delves into the future as a way to analyze our current dilemma, here and now. Who will live to see the 25th Century?

Holocene, Anthrocene, Anthropocene. Cli-fi explores all scenes and judges all. Who let us down? Who will raise us up?

Teaching climate science is the role of school teachers. Writing cli-fi is the role of seers,  visionaries, dreamers, prophets.

There has never been a time like this in human history when so much is at stake. Will cli-fi answer the call?

How on Earth did we end up this way? Who on Earth will have their say? Arise, all ye who write cli-fi.

There's no accounting for the predicament we're in. No one to blame, no one to name. Or is there? Cli-fi sees all.

Children born today are no different than children born before. But they will grow up to read, write cli-fi. (And. Face. Facts.)

Cli-fi is not a science, and it is not science. It is a literary genre in search of redemption, grace, salvation. It is your turn to try.

There will come a time when shoulders shrug, when faces droop,  when smiles fade. But cli-fi can save the day. Arise!

If cli-fi is to serve any real purpose, it must soar above distractions and land in the public square. Discuss it, write it.


Cli-fi has no canon, no school, no leader. It belongs to all who embrace it. Use it as you will.


 In some future time, say 2085, people will look back at the rise of cli-fi in 2015 and wonder why and how it grew. Who knew?

 Do you cli-fi? Do you "do" cli-fi? Do you read or write or research cli-fi? Welcome aboard.

  Cli-fi exists not to promote careers or obtain research grants or government funding. No, cli-fi just is. And rising.

  Cli-fi is rising, yes. It's in the air. It's time has come. There is no wormhole that can stop it.

  In the best of all possible worlds, there would be no need for cli-fi. Unfortunately, we live in cli-fi times. In a cli-fi world. Face it.

  This is the Age of Cli-Fi, in the Antropocene, after the Holocene. It's not a pretty picture, is it?

  Who invited you to the house of cli-fi? No one. You came of your own accord, to look, to see. It's an open house.

  You write cli-fi because it gets under your skin and you can no longer look away. Peer into the future and tell us what you see.

  The house of cli-fi welcomes everyone. Come in, look around, take a seat. There are books to read. And write.

  I never met a future I didn’t like. No, that can’t be true. Some futures spell the end of humankind. It’s in the cards. Choose your exit.


• Cli-fi isn't a marketing term or a bookstore shelving category, and it's more than a literary term. It's a password into the future and those who know it, know.

• ​Cli-fi is more than a genre term, much more than that: it's a code word, a password, a secret handshake; it is bringing us together as one

• ​Cli-Fi is not for you or your children or grandkids, no. It's codeword for future generations, as yet unborn. And born they shall be. In next 30 generations.​

• ​Cli-Fi cannot, will not, save us from what's coming. Too late for that. But it's here, now, always. We have 30 generations to prepare. See?

• In the future, come 30 more generations of man, there will be no Cli-Fi. By 2500 A.D. (Anthrocenus Deflexus)it will be too late.

• People want cli-fi to offer solutions, comfortable happy fixes. Aint gonna happen. We are ''doomed, doomed'' as a species, and we did it to ourselves.
​• Cli-Fi cannot, will not, save us from what's coming. Too late for that. But it's here, now, always. We have 30 generations to prepare. There's time.
​​
​• Cli-fi won't make much of a difference either way you define it. It's just here, now, beckoning future writers. It's not sci-fi, never was
• Cli-fi is more than a mere genre: it's a cri de coeur, a warning flare, a pathway to the future before it's too late. See? #CliFi's here now​
• If the rising new literary term "cli-fi" makes you 'cringe' at first sight or hearing, don't give up on it yet. With time, you will come to see it for what it is.

•​ Cli-fi is not sci-fi, it is not eco-fiction, it is not subgenred to anything earlier. Cli-Fi is a hashtag burning its stamp into our very skin, as we prepare.

• ​Cli-fi is more than a genre term, much more than that: it's a code word, a password, a secret handshake; it is bringing us together as one.
• Cli-fi wasn't just a case of slapping a new name on an old genre. It's much deeper and existential than that. Think game-changer, new directions.
• We'll never make it out of here alive. That's cli-fi in a nutshell. Man the lifeboats, prepare to test the seas of one season after the next.
• Cli-fi defines a line the sands of time that no man can cross without trepidation or reverence. There's a reason we are here. What is it?
• If cli-fi is one thing, it's a chance to choose our future. One door leads here, another door leads there. Choose wisely: Your descendants are waiting.
• There's a tragic flaw in our genes, a selfish shellfish that doesn't want to share. This DNA will be our downfall. This Earth shall abide.
• Cli-fi doesn't choose sides. We do. Choose your weapon, use it wisely. We are here by the grace of God, and someday we won't be. God knows.
• You could say that in a post-sci-fi world, cli-fi has come to rescue us from oblivion. Not true. No way.
• You might not really be interested in cli-fi, or where it is going. But trust me, cli-fi is interested in you. Why? Becos the End is nigh
• When all is said and done, cli-fi points in only one direction. It's for everyone to find it on their own. ON THE BEACH from 1957 has clues.
• Cli-fi is not about who coined it or who popularized it. It's about much more pressing things, like how many more generations before the End?
• I never met a future I didn't like. No, that can't be true. Some futures spell the end of humankind. It's in the cards. Choose your exit.

• Cli-fi is neither pro nor con. It just is. Take your pick. Choose yr sides. We are at war w/ a future that threatens all futures. Arise!

• Cli-fi is so much a part of this world that on first hearing the word or seeing it in print, it slips right by, invisble, unnoticed.
•If by some remote chance you find yourself reading a cli-fi novel without realizing it's cli-fi, you have arrived.
• There are are still 30 generations to be born before the real apocalypse begins. This now is just a rehearsal. An audition.
• Cli-fi leads to a meeting of the minds, borderless, rudderless, unconsolable. Will we get there on time?
• If you think time is running out, or has already run out, in terms of the unspeakable cli-fi future we face, you are very close to solving the riddle. Why are we here?
• I don't want to sound pessimistic, as optimism must abound and console us. But listen to the wind, hear the chimes sing, ring.
• Cli-fi has a place in our hearts and minds, now and forever. But forever is no longer forever. We sold the farm.
• Cli-fi can, and will, shine a light on the darkness that is about to befall us. Let's stick together and shoulder the burden.
• You didn't know cli-fi was coming. Nobody did. It's taken us by surprise.
• There will be days when cli-fi is beyond us, unscoutable, undetected. All the more reason to pay attention.
• Cli-fi doesn't mean resignation or giving in to the darkness ahead. To the contrary, it means taking up arms.
• If a time shall come when all else fails, cli-fi may just come to the rescue. Make room.
• Cli-fi cannot answer all our questions or undo the deeds we have done. No. But she can unburden us of our fears.
• There will come a time when there is no time left. That's where, and when, cli-fi comes in.
• Who will write the cli-fi of the future? They will be legion, legends. Welcome them.
• Cli-fi is more than a mere genre term, much more than a literary term. It's a battle cry, a cri decoeur, a shout-out to future generations: "We tried to warn you!"
• Think positive, think cli-fi. Think future generations, think now. Think the end is nigh unless we change our ways.
• There is no way out of here, said the sailors to the sun. Thirty more generations is all we have left. What then?
• Ploddingly, one step at a time, we are marching to future days. Cli-fi cannot stop the deluge, yet we must not surrender. Never.
• With sea levels rising in future times, Nature has been turned on its head. Cli-fi paints a picture, sight unseen.
• If we could see CO2, smell it, know that is there, over-loaded, we might be able to put out the fires. But it is invisible, odorless.
• Whatever generation you belong to, know in your heart that there is no way out of here. Nature has spoken, Earth recoils. Write on.
• To show respect to the Earth, which is our home in the cosmos, please always capitalize the word as ''Earth.'' Earth matters, tell the copy desk. Lowercasing it is beneath us.
• Cli-fi cannot, will not, lead the way. This is a clean-up action, and way too late. But it matters nevertheless.
• One cannot see the future, cli-fi is blind. But the stories we tell will matter, even if it is all for naught.
• Cli-fi, by indirection finds direction out. Your words on the page must be balanced, insistent. Always. And never lose hope.
• Not doomed yet? What will it take to connect the dots? Not doomed yet? Some overly-rosy displays of optimism in print could be seen as pathological.
• As humans, ike all life forms, we are hardwired and programmed to believe that the near future will be similar to the recent past. Our Achilles heel, so to speak.
• Cli-fi won't solve our problems, and can't undo what's done. Fasten your seatbelts. This is a ride to Hell.
• Climate change is more than a fact of life. It is the result of human ingenuity, greed, rapaciousness and fear. Fear not: cli-fi is here. Write it.
• I came to the table naive and unquestioning. I left totally convinced there will be dead people, lots of dead people. That was the genesis of cli-fi.
• You might not want to go down the cli-fi road, and that's okay. It's not a pretty picture, not a happy selfie. It's disaster, writ large.
• In the long and rambling history of humankind, cli-fi will be just a blip on the radar screen. Pay it no heed.
• You weren't born yesterday. Your descendants may not even be born at all, ever. That's how unfathomable cli-fi is.
• If you can manage to fit the personal stories of cli-fi between the covers of a book, do it. With trepidation. Know your audience.
• Cli-fi will have no denouement, no act three, no happy ending, no Greek chorus, no social media take-away. Push send.

• Sorry, but this is how cli-fi is going to be, in the Anthropocene. Just 12 letters spelling doom.

• I wish there was some cli-fi way out of here, but there ain't. Ain't ain't ain't. Ain't ain't ain't times, ten thousand times ain't.