Hate to rain on Greta’s parade, but I coined ‘cli-fi’

By Dan Bloom

Dan Bloom

CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — There are some novels and movies now that tell human stories about what climate change is like (or might be like) in the distant future. The genre is not sci-fi, but rather cli-fi, and it’s on the rise, according to Czech journalist Jaroslav Totusek at the Lidovky newspaper in Prague. Although I coined the “cli-fi” term in 2011 and wrote about it extensively in dozens of media outlets since then, from The New York Times to  San Diego Jewish World, with an international website set up since 2013 at www.cli-fi.net, Totusek is under the impression that Greta Thunberg is the main driver of this literary genre. It could be called a subgenre of science fiction but dubbed in English as climate fiction.

As I coined the term and spent the past eight years boosting its media profile worldwide, I have to admit I was disturbed that “Greta Thunbergova,” as the Prague newspaper referred to the 16-year-old Swedish climate striker, is being given credit for what I did.  On the other hand, I was glad to read that she is actively promoting “cli-fi” to millions of her young followers around the world on Twitter and Instagram.

Using Google Translate to decode the article into English, I learned that ”climate fiction” is called “klimatickou fikci” in the national language of the Czech Republic, and that “climate change” is called “klimatickou zmenou” in the local language there.

Totusek, a graduate of the University of Jyvaskyla, is the culture editor for the Lidovky newspaper and often writes about Hollywood movies and European art house films. He is articulate and knows the culture business worldwide from A to Z.

I was further surprised  when I read in his newspaper that cli-fi was first introduced in America by NPR reporter “Angela Evanciova” (Angela Evancie in English) who in 2013 interviewed New Orleans cli-fi novelist “Nathaniela Riche” (Nathaniel Rich) the author of Odds Against Tomorrow.

There was no mention of my name or link to my website. How did Totusek make that mistake in his reporting?

Totusek reported that the Nat Rich novel was about “hurrikan Sandy” and the rise of excessive ”carbon dioxide” emissions (“oxidu uhliciteho”) around the world causing ferocious hurricanes, prolonged droughts, and terrible typhoons in Taiwan and Japan. The newspaper in Prague also reported about a cli-fi novel from 2004 titled “State of Fear” by Michael Chrichton (“Michaela Chrichtona”).

The Lidovky website also said, and here I quote the story verbatim in translation, that “Greta Thunberg is credited with helping to create the cli-fi genre, as modern literature responds to current trends on Earth, including runaway global warming.

“The young Swedish activist, now visiting the United States for a round of media interviews on talk shows and Congressional hearings, also helped raise the profile of this subgenre of sci-fi,” the newspaper added, noting: “The genre is now experiencing a huge increase in popularity thanks to this young climate activist who has consistently raised the issue in the media and in speeches to world leaders and movie stars like Arnold Schwarzeneggar and music icons like Bono.”

The headline of Totusek’s news report was “I romany varují pred klimatickou zmenou. Zanr ‘cli-fi’ je na vzestupu.”

Czech is Greek to me, but I’m glad to see the ”cli-fi” genre term getting picked up by reporters in many non-English speaking countries, too, even in the Czech Republic.

“Literatura reaguje na soucasnou situaci. Nejinak je tomu i v prípade ‘cli-fi’ (zkratka pro klimatickou fikci), podzanru vedecke fantastiky, který se zameruje na klimaticke zmeny,”  the report concluded.

Perhaps the late great Prague novelist Franz Kafka would have had a field day with this very correctable news  published in his native country last week.

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Bloom, coiner of “Cli-Fi” is an inveterate web surfer based in Chiayi City, Taiwan.  He may be contacted via dan.bloom@sdjewishworld.com