I Say... Steampunk?
WHAT IS STEAMPUNK?
Steampunk is a literary and artistic movement that melds elements of Victorian-era history and fashion with modern technology and fantastical fiction. What if the seminal science fiction adventures of authors Jules Verne and H.G. Wells described our world today? What if we could fly in airships, sail in submarines like the Nautilus, and enjoy a good cup of tea while we're at it?
photo: Coelynn McInnich coe-photo.com
Science fiction author K.W. Jeter who coined the term "steampunk" in 1987 to describe the Victorian-style speculative fiction being written at the time, as an alternative the the very high-tech futuristic style known as "cyberpunk." In a letter to Locus Magazine Jeter wrote, "Personally, I think Victorian fantasies are going to be the next big thing, as long as we can come up with a fitting collective term… Something based on the appropriate technology of the era; like ‘steampunks’, perhaps…”
In more recent years, steampunk has exploded in popularity as an artistic and lifestyle movement as well as a literary one. Steampunk artists and makers, fed up with plastic and streamlined designs, have been looking to the Victorian, Edwardian and Industrial eras for inspiration.
At its core, steampunk asks the question, “What would the world look like if modern technology were available when steam was king, corsets were mandatory and man was just learning to fly?”
-- G.D. Falksen