Gothic Revival (Summer 2024)

Boiled down, Gothic literature explores fear, haunting, and the uncanny. These influences remain quite popular, particularly in horror films. For example, Frankenstein’s monster and Dracula remain popular costumes, references, films, and even novels to be read by horror fans. As the title of this issue perhaps makes obvious, we have recently seen a Gothic Revival in European literature, perhaps reflecting a sentiment that expands beyond Europe about the times in which we are living. What impresses us so much about this echo from the past, however, is that it touches on the more profound purposes of the 18th– and 19th–century Gothic, which goes much further than surface-level horror.

The Gothic is a way to explore the psychology of humans and their relation to society, science, and nature. Despite popular cultural versions of mad scientists and supernatural characters—of which I am admittedly quite fond of myself—the return to this contemporary Gothic explores these deeper meanings to reveal how the Gothic remains pertinent and universal. The pieces and the artwork in this issue will unsettle you in ways that make you reconsider your relationship with your surroundings. The components of the Gothic—architecture, nature, supernatural, civilization, etc.—remain the same, but their forms have transformed.

The issue begins with an excerpt of Esteve Soler’s play Against Fraternity, translated from Catalan by H.J. Gardner. This scene is not for those who fear flying as it becomes clear how little a passenger’s fate rests in their hands. Finnish author Anu Kaaja’s short story “The Wallpaper” translated by Darcy Hurford enters the mind of an artist restoring an 18th-century wallpaper. Echoing the likes of Charlotte Perkins Gillman, this wallpaper has a life of its own.

Evald Filsar’s Swarm of Dust translated from Slovene by David Limon reveals that nature and man must always conflict to survive. On the other hand, Anna Błasiak’s poetry collection  Deliverance accompanied by Lisa Kalloo’s photography explores conflicts of man based on sexuality and identity. Dark and light balance as natural love fights for space and acceptance in society.  “The House of Unrequited Love” by Czech Republic-based author Michael Stein creates a character out of a city, a character that some people will surely know better than others.

We take a visit to the past with Isabelle Eberhardt’s short story “The Paradise of Waters,” translated from French by Donald Mason. Eberhardt’s story is from the late 1800s to early 1900s and mixes Gothic writing with North African influences. These influences in the Gothic make this an extremely exciting inclusion in this issue as it first appears in translation thanks to Mason. While not written in the past, Anne Eekhout’s Mary and the Birth of Frankenstein, translated from Dutch by Laura Watkinson explores the life of the creator of Frankenstein and his creature, Mary Shelley.

Sarah Talboys-Smith’s collection of stories centers around the horror related to beds. Gothic influences are clear as an item used for comfort twists to show a different image. Rui Cardoso Martins’ novel Deathly Convalescence translated from Portuguese by Joe Williams blends history, architecture, and dreams in Alentejo, a rural region of Portugal where nature reigns supreme despite the human efforts to tame it. Interaction between nature and people continues in our final excerpt of this issue. Saint Wolf by Elena Aleksieva, translated from Bulgarian by Yana Ellis shows how science and control of a mine have wider implications.

As you read through this issue, I challenge you to go beyond the horror and supernatural in these works and to reflect upon what the Gothic has to reveal to us today. Enjoy.

Clayton McKee
Director
Trafika Europe