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3. Do you think people in general know what literary magical realism is?

ANONYMOUS, publisher/editor, London, England

No.
ANONYMOUS, retired journalist/translator/researcher/film production, France
In France, no. The French are addicted to reason, they're allergic to any disquieting bent of mind. England is better in that respect. New Age literature has been widely read, so the minds have opened up. Very few books have been translated into French, if any.
ANONYMOUS, retired dentist/medical educator, Newport, RI
No. Is there a need for people to know? Perhaps it's enough that they enjoy this genre of writing and film.
CAROLYN BEASLEY, writer/creative writing teacher, Victoria, Australia
carolynmareebeasley@excite.com
No. Does anyone? It is an elastic term limited only by our imaginations. What I find magical, another may find impossible. What I read as a clothed attempt to circumvent restrictive rules of expression, others may see as a romantic frolic.
PAT BERGERON, dreamer/explorer/research secretary, Ann Arbor, MI
pcarolb@umich.edu
No.
BILL BEVERLY, professor at Trinity College
Vaguely.
CHRIS DOERFLER, attorney/wannabe screenwriter, Phoenix, AZ
cadoerfler@cox.net
No.
LOUIS GALLO, professor of English, Radford University, Radford, VA
No, they do not. Though most of them live it every day.
LAURA HORSLEY, high-school teacher, Houston, TX
Not really. At best, I think a handful of individuals would suggest an equal number of definitions.
MARIO HERRERA, student/University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM
riodude@unm.edu
I do not think that it is a widely known type of literature. I do know of current arguments regarding whether it is a genre or a mode, but most people that I know of categorize it as fantasy fiction.
CAROLIVIA HERRON, novelist, Washington DC
Carolivia@carolivia.org
No.
DAVID INKEY, poet and philosopher (the UN Poet)
unpoet@aol.com
No.
KATIE, graduate student/English teacher, Richmond, VA
No, but they should! I do projects on magical realism and talk about it whenever I can.
SONDRA KELLY-GREEN, writer, Willamina, OR
veniceitaly@excite.com
No. And unless you’ve got a pat answer that’s served you well in the past they just don’t get it. It’s hard to come up with a solid common comparison they can relate to. If anyone has one, please share!
KATIE KLEIN, librarian
Nope.
DERAN LUDD, Seattle, WA
No.
SANDRA MADDUX-CREECH, laid-off account manager, Wellington, CO
madduxcreech@msn.com
Even my fellow writers have a hard time defining it for themselves. The unusual accepted as usual. Laws of time and space be damned! No, I do not think people in general know what it is.
ANDREW MCCRAY, high-school student, Highlands Ranch, CO
Hey, I didn't know about it until someone told me about it. I think people know what magical realism is, but they don't know it by that name.
HERMINE MEINHARD, poet/writing teacher, New York, NY
herminem@earthlink.net
I think most don't… Many who are readers and who have heard of García Márquez and others don't… or the term makes them laugh (how can something be magical and real at the same time?) A friend, very educated, recently asked me what magical realism is…
LETTIE PRELL, Des Moines, IA
Perhaps when they're reading it. But maybe they can't define it.
ROBERT PREUSS, writer, Saratoga Springs, NY
No.
JOHN PROHASKA, Winnipeg, Manitoba
johnprohaska2000@yahoo.ca
No. The majority are grossly unaware of literature in general, or as a thing separate from mainstream fiction. As MR is basically considered a genre of higher literature, it is unlikely many would be familiar with the term.
KEN RAND, writer/part-time library shelver, West Jordan, UT
KRand27577@aol.com
No. If it ain't on Fox, who cares?
JEAN MARIE RIQUELME, poet, Green Bay, WI
If they are Spanish-speaking, yes; if not, no.
MELANIE RIVERA, student, Washington DC
mr5831a@american.edu
No.
GARRETT ROWLAN, subteacher, Los Angeles, CA
growlan@jps.net
I don't think people in general know what magic realism is.
KELLEY WHITE, pediatrician, Philadelphia, PA
KelleyWhiteMD@Yahoo.com
I don't think people read much in general, let alone know what magical realism is.
CAROL ZAPATA-WHELAN, university instructor, Hispanic Lit/writer, Clovis, CA, USA/Argentina
No, nobody on the street. And my students usually have no idea.
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