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Linda McDaniel

English 3134

Ms. Carter

Poppy Z. Brite, author of the gothic short stories Xenophobia and Angels,

leaves much to be desired in her contributions to the supernatural genre. WhileBrite

exhibits classic characteristics ofsupernatural literature in her works, she seems to do little

to contribute to the evolution of this particular type

of literature. Her writing ability is undoubtedly above average,

and her atmosphere is sufficient; still, she offers no plot

or narrative drive and any psychological element is non-existent.

Those things that remain appear to be desperate, un-cohesive

attempts to feign a horror story with whatever shock and

grotesque she can create.

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http://www.poppyzbrite.com/http://www.poppyzbrite.com/http://www.poemuseum.org/index.phphttp://www.poppyzbrite.com/http://www.poemuseum.org/index.php

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To understand where Brites work should be in the

supernatural evolution, we must first reflect on the place from where it came. The

pioneers of supernatural literature created their tales based on a few certain essentials:

Puppet characters

Creepy scenes

Supernatural incidents

These fundamentals are found in the writings ofHorace Walpole,

who created the genre with his work, The Castle of Ontranto.

Next in the development comes the gothic period. Here, we find

appeal to the intellect

pseudo-science

the invention of a human element

Such contributions to this era can be found in

the works ofMary Shelley, author of Frankenstein.

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http://www.litgothic.com/Authors/walpole.htmlhttp://www.litgothic.com/Authors/walpole.htmlhttp://www.litgothic.com/Authors/mshelley.htmlhttp://www.litgothic.com/Authors/mshelley.htmlhttp://www.litgothic.com/Authors/walpole.htmlhttp://www.litgothic.com/Authors/mshelley.html

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Moving on, we come to the modern writers, the best example being

Edgar Allen Poe, who writes in

psychological aspects

a pairing down of ghouls

a shift in focus to the undercurrent of

society

These elements help drive the gothic genre into

the future.

Last are the

modern masters. These authors, such asArthur Machen, take the progression of the gothic

tale to the next level direction shifts with

artistic smoothness

convincingness

intensity

move away from pseudo-science

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http://www.online-literature.com/poe/http://www.litgothic.com/Authors/machen.htmlhttp://www.litgothic.com/Authors/machen.htmlhttp://www.online-literature.com/poe/http://www.litgothic.com/Authors/machen.html

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So, the question is this:

Which of these elements does Brite

draw from and

what original contributions does

she make?

She clearly draws on creepy scenes and

the undercurrent of society. What is not

altogether clear is what, if anything, she

contributes. She definitely takes gross to the

next level, but what fright that adds is questionable.

Xenophobia, a tale from her collection of short stories titled Wormwood, seems

to struggle for its purpose; appearing to ultimately only discover that it has none. The best

it can offer are two unappealing derelicts who are also likely drug addicts.

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These two male characters offer little in the way of intellect as their thoughts seem

only to center around what is pornographic and drug-related. The plot moves something

like this: Two punk rockers get off of a bus in Chinatown. Not sure what to do next, they

make some bone-headed jokes about Fried lice and Monkey brains. Eyeball pie. (Brite

71). So far, we have atmosphere, which is not hard to create when the setting is

Chinatown.

After that, we are forced to accept the fact that there will be no appeal to the

intellect and thus likely no psychological element. Any hope that Brite is a modern master

is erased. The two characters then settle on ice-cream. They enjoy their sweet-treat over

some conversation about alcohol and their lack of funds to purchase such; this is coupled

with some discussion about the layout of Asian vaginas. Some indication is made that a

plot may be included in this story as a Chinese undertaker offers the two men a bottle of

good cognac (Brite 74) should they agree to watch a corpse at his parlor. The two agree

and sit with the corpse while tripping on mushrooms and getting drunk. All the while, they

are tempted to peek at the Asian womans vagina, and alas, can no longer resist. Robert

(the only named character), removes the corpses shroud.

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Brite writes, He dipped his fingers into the nest of black hair, smoothed it aside,

and exposed the dark pink lips of the womans vagina (82). Soon after, the author offers

the audience her version of horror, writing: His fingers probed further, slipping inside the

fleshy lips and parting them, exposing what was insidea single eye (Brite 84). The two

run away and the tale ends.

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If gross is enough to constitute a story as

supernatural literature then Xenophobia

can be placed in the category.

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In his book, The Evolution of the Weird Tale,S.T. Joshiwrites: Brite can write.

But in many cases, she has nothing to write about (203). This appears to be the case in

Xenophobia, which Joshi references following this comment: She can craft fine

descriptive passages (203). He quotes this passage in Brites tale:

The light of the setting sun was red as desire. Xs paraded across every

marquee. The poster girls nipples and lipstick had long since faded to a

dusty orange. The signs and lampposts and even the square of the

sidewalk that we stood on seemed to vibrate a hellish glow, as if some

enormous city machine thrummed far below the pavement. (203)

While not terribly frightening, Brite does create atmosphere. With her invention of the

eyeball vagina, she also invites the suspension of natural laws. H.P. Lovecraft, a critic and

modern master of supernatural literature, defines the two essential elements in the gothic

tale as atmosphere and thesuspension of natural laws. Still, one wonders what he would

have to say about Brite.

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http://www.stjoshi.net/http://www.stjoshi.net/http://www.stjoshi.net/http://www.hplovecraft.com/http://www.stjoshi.net/http://www.hplovecraft.com/

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Angels, also in Wormwood, seems to end a bit better than Xenophobia. Still,

the two male characters, Ghost and Steve, offer little in the way of psychology; though a

slight human element can be found with the implication that they were sent to save a set of

formerly conjoined twins from an environment where they are misunderstood. The tale

moves much like Xenophobia; this is true, at least, concerning lack of narrative drive and

plot. However, the ending is more satisfying, as Brite describes the deceased twins parents

returning home from the city with the dead bodies of their children; this happens following

a butchered surgery to re-join them. She writes:

As we headed home, Daddys face hanging heavy and impressive over

the steering wheel, Mama praying loudly in the passenger seat, and

the twins following us home in a refrigerated train car, I watched the sky

for angels. (21)

The story is choppy, and as Joshi writes, Most of Brites stories are not so much stories as

vignettes. Very few actually go anywhere, narratively speaking (203).

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Poppy Z. Brite was born in New Orleans; she lived there off on throughout her life

and now calls it home. Certainly, New Orleans offers much in the way of inspiration for

atmosphere, and such inspiration has not been lost on Brite. She began to create horror

stories at age three, and proudly boasts this info on her website. She seems to imply that

her ability to craft tales at such a young age lends itself to a higher intelligence, which may

be true. Joshi tackles the question of child prodigy, stating: it is worth studying the actual

merits of her work (203). In the end, he concludes, She is not as good a writer as she

thinks she is (Joshi 208).

Nonetheless, Poppy Z. Brite is studied in many supernatural courses. Trevor Holmes,

author of (Un) Becoming Goth, brings this fact to light: Her work is taught, however, in

gothic and horror courses on at least three continents (73). Perhaps this gives Brite some

credibility in her field. Concerning her plots, Holmes writes: the rather conventional

plotting is belied (73). If the plot is unfulfilled, then, at least, the shocking grotesque is

not. Holmes approaches this element of Brites work by drawing this conclusion: Poppy

Brite can be counted on to shock, at least a little bit (73).

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Atmosphere, writing ability and grotesque shock, Poppy has. These things will

have to be seen has her contribution to supernatural literature because, as Joshi writes,

She has much more difficulty describing mental states or things beyond the realm of the

senses (73). Poppy Z. Brite is still writing and still being studied, and perhaps, in the

future, her contributions will be more clearly seen. For now, her tales rely on the grotesque

and lack any other elements substantial enough to call her a master.

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Works Cited

Brite, Poppy Z. Poppy Z. Brite Biography.Poppy Z. Brite Official Site. Poppy Z.

Brite, n.d.. Web. 19 Nov. 2009.

Brite, Poppy Z. Wormwood. New York: Dell, 1994. Print.

Holmes, Trevor. (Un) Becoming Goth. Gothic Studies 9.1 (2007): 73.Academic

Search Premier. Web. 1 Dec. 2009.

Joshi. S.T. The Evolution of the Weird Tale. New York: Hippocampus Press, 2004.

Print.

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