Implications of Postmodernism
The implications of postmodern theory for authors, readers, and texts are significant. Jean-Françoise Lyotard's notion of postmodernism suggests the radical condition of using this theory in practice:
"A postmodern artist or writer is in the position of a philosopher: the text he writes, the work he produces are not in principle governed by preestablished rules, and they cannot be judged according to a determining judgement, by applying familiar categories to the text or to the work. Those rules and categories are what the work of art itself is looking for." (The Postmodern Condition 81)
As Lyotard suggests here, postmodernism challenges the way we conceive of writing, reading, and texts: rather than seeing the need to produce works that conform to traditional notions of what the work should be, authors and readers should feel free to pursue new ways of presenting their works.
The discussion of postmodernism branches in two directions from this node: what I see as the core of postmodernism and a brief discussion the implications of postmodernism for texts, readers, and authors.
Defining Postmodernism
An Introduction?