Postmodern literature

[Waterwolf]

Can somebody please define postmodern literature for me? It was once described to me as like a pop video - all cut up and constantly changing. I've wondered if that means that simply switching between viewpoint characters between or within chapters is postmodern.

[anneduncan]

According to the Macquarie Concise Dictionary, postmodernism means:
'Any of a number of trends in art or literature which developed in the 1970s as a reaction to the idea of modernism with its emphasis on individual expression, progressing through a sequence of styles.'

[ChrisH]

Postmodern is a term sometimes applied to art and literature created after the second world war which seeks to experiment and flout tradition. It has its origins in the disasterous affects of the war when suddenly the world seemed turned on its head. It can cover a multitude of different styles and ideas, which is why it is so hard to pin down. The common thread is the idea of tearing up what has gone before and starting again. It is a more extreme continuation of Modernism which was a similar movement after the first world war.