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Ecofiction

Speculative and Fantastic Fiction

Ecofiction is the branch of literature that encompasses nature- or environment-oriented works of fiction. While this super genre's roots can be seen in the pastoral tradition, classic nature writing, magical realism, animal-metamorphosis tales and science fiction, the term ecofiction did not become popular until the 1960s, when various environmental movements created the platform for an explosion of environmental and nature literature, which also helped inspire ecocriticism, the interdisciplinary study of literature and the environment in which scholars examine how texts illustrate environmental concerns and treat the subject of nature. Environmentalists have claimed that the human relationship with the ecosystem often went unremarked in earlier literature.

Facts
Place of Origin
Rooted in classic pastoral and nature writing, the term itself became popular in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s as the environmental movement grew, heralded by John Stadler's 1971 anthology Eco-fiction. 1
Notable Example
John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, named by the World Economic Forum among novels that changed the world for its portrayal of the Dust Bowl caused by unsustainable farming practices. 1
Defining Trait
The branch of literature encompassing nature or environment-oriented works of fiction, treating the nonhuman environment as more than a framing device and human accountability to it as part of the text's ethical orientation. 1
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Ecofiction (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
Quote, Lead section
Ecofiction (also "eco-fiction" or "eco fiction") is the branch of literature that encompasses nature or environment-oriented works of fiction.
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