In this she was successful when the match she chewed made contact with the luminous image she evoked, the match began to burn. The first time she saw him, the first time their hands touched, the first bouquet of roses, the first kiss, the first caress, the first time they made love. “As she chewed each match, she pressed her eyes shut and tried to reproduce the most moving memories of her and Pedro. In reality, matches would cause little more than a nasty stomachache, but in lo real maravilloso, matches and passion are capable of so much more. In an attempt to reignite the fire, Tita actually consumes matches that re-ignite the spark in her body, and bring her to death with her partner. At the end of their lives, they are finally able to give over to this passion, but Pedro dies in the act. In Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate, Tita spends her entire life trying to deny the love she has for Pedro. The following example may serve to clarify the spark that often precedes a scene of magic realism, and also to clarify what exactly this magic is. Now, we’re not talking spells and dragons and Harry Potter here, but, instead, fantastical occurrences and elements within modern or historic real-world stories that are often born of extreme passion, emotion or events. In working with this genre, writers and readers are within the framework of truth, but with magical happenings. Magic in the real world? Isn’t that an oxymoron? In fact, the term lo real maravilloso, commonly attributed to a prominent Cuban author Alejo Carpentier, may be the best way to explain the concept, as it translates literally to “a marvelous reality”-or a reality that is somehow heightened, but still real. The result, then, is a manifestation that would be, in the opinion of the reader, magical, yet still set in real life. I’m talking to authors who know, without a doubt, the passion that their character, setting, plot or action dictates is simply unable to be contained by the tools of the real world. However, I’m not talking about Harlequin-bodice-ripper passion. It is easiest to frame an explanation of magic realism in the context of explosive passions. (Photo Left: Tamara Kaye Sellman) A Marvelous Reality But beyond that, it's not the same at all.” “Magic Realism and Fantasy are only similar in that they re-perceive realism in the same way. Sellman is a Pushcart Prize nominee and writing coach who mentors one magic realist author per year through her Magic Carpet Ride mentorship. Let’s explore this genre as a potential context for the next story or novel that you have brimming in your head! To help with this process, we’re lucky to have the expertise of Tamara Kaye Sellman, a published magic realism author and former editor of Margin-a journal on magic realism. Yet, it still tends to cause some confusion, doubt, and yes, even controversy in the literary world. Thanks to Oprah’s tacit blessing of magic realism through book club selections like Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude and possible (although debated) nods to magic realism in Junot Diaz’s Pulitzer prize-winning The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, the genre continues to be popular among novelists, short story writers, and readers alike. Unfortunately, my limping Spanish couldn’t keep up with my thoughts on the subject, and I fear that I erased any interest the rest of the class may have had in the genre. As an English undergrad, I was excited to talk about magic realism in a Spanish class I was, after all, somewhat nerdy about all things literary. Y own introduction to the genre and stylistics of magic realism still embarrasses me.
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