Myth Stepping into Matter
Notes on Mythorealism
By C.S. Thompson
Notes on Mythorealism
By C.S. Thompson
The term "Mythorealism" was coined by my mother, author Lani Thompson, in order to describe both her own work and similar works by other writers, artists and musicians. In her own words, Mythorealism "encompasses facets of reality which aren't ordinarily perceived and brings them into the waking world. Reality is more than bones and blood. It is the spirit lurking behind stones and flesh... Myth stepping into Matter... The World being uttered..."
This word has since been used to describe several inter-related bodies of work and their associated ideas, ranging from fantastic fiction to visual art to metaphysical speculation. It is both an artistic and literary attitude, and even a system of thought. Because a number of widely divergent works can be considered under the Mythorealist heading (including many whose creators have never heard of the term) there is no Mythorealist doctrine. However, the core assumptions of Mythorealism have implications in every aspect of life, from metaphysics and epistemology to ethics and aesthetics.
Mythorealism can be described in a single sentence: when myth incarnates in the waking world. In other words, the art we describe as Mythorealist is neither fantastic alone nor realistic alone, but involves the incarnation and manifestation of Myth in the actual world. Magic, to us, is neither an escapist entertainment nor a discarded superstition, but still less is it a mere technology to be employed for advantage. It is, instead, a way of relating to the world, and a way of expressing what is essential about the world and our experience here.
Because Mythorealism deals with unusual facets of reality that are normally considered magical, fantastic fiction is a natural venue for Mythorealist ideas. But these same ideas may also be expressed in visual art or music or poetry, or even as philosophy in the traditional sense.
As for what Mythorealism is not: it is not an ideology, a religion or any other set of formal beliefs. It is primarily an aesthetic stance. However, this aesthetic stance implies a type of mysticism. What form that mysticism will take is not predetermined, and the involvement of any individual in that aspect can range from a casual interest to a deep commitment, taking forms that are monotheist, polytheist or not theistic at all.
The implication of Mythorealism is that there is something more, a magical reality behind reality. What that means, exactly, is up to the individual, but the Mythorealist as an artist will bring this other reality to the forefront, incarnating it in the waking world.
I will discuss certain facets of my own beliefs in the following essays, and their relationship to the concept of Mythorealism- but don't let that fool you. Nothing in these pages is to be taken as definitive, or as some set of core doctrines in a new ideology. There is no ideology- there is only the magic. Each individual's relationship to that magic must be determined individually.