Life after Postmodernism

The article presents the book Reconsidering Postmodern. European Writers Reconsidering the Postmodern Heritage published by Amsterdam University Press in 2011. The presented work is a collection of many voices discussing new tendencies in European literatures (and not a single literature) after the 9/11 attacks; every chapter is dedicated to one European nation (among them: French, Belgian, German, Italian and Polish). For the editors of the book, this date has significant impact on the European writers and readers, who could not longer accept such postmodern qualities as: relativism, playfulness, omnipresent irony, the lack of commitment and specific jargon. The word “heritage” suggests that there is something after postmodern times and in the introduction two options are presented: late postmodern and post-postmodern. But has the postmodern really ended? After all it seems that the tragedy of 9/11 did not have such an influence on the European literatures. The local socio-political context seems to be more relevant.