Steampunk FAQ
Recently I spent an evening at a book seller’s/buyers trade show, and during this trade show, I was called upon to explain what steampunk is … repeatedly. Dozens of times, no joke. Likewise, I was asked many a follow-up question, and I did my best to provide concise, reasonable, correct(ish) answers to all of them.
Mind you, I didn’t have a print-out of my steampunk manifesto in hand; and anyway, even if I did, it would’ve been utterly impractical (and time-consuming) to recite. So I pondered. I struggled. I condensed.
Given the excessive (and delightful!) interest in the subject, I thought I’d take a stab at turning my experience into a Frequently Asked Questions page. Perhaps it will be of use to someone, somewhere. Perhaps it will earn me hate mail. One never knows. Regardless, here’s my best effort.
What is “steampunk?” No, seriously. Fifty words or fewer. I dare you.
Steampunk is a style (of books, clothes, video games, movies, etc.) that draws its inspiration from old science fiction stories. By “old” I mean Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Mary Shelley, and their ilk. Steampunk art is often (but not strictly always) indicative of a place and/or time wherein steam is the dominant form of high technology. Or at least it usually looks like it is. [Whoops, that's more than fifty words. But not much more.]
Okay. But why?
Because it’s fun. Also, it’s a reaction to the school of design that says all tech must look flat and shiny and inscrutable; it’s a rebuttal of disposable culture and wasteful consumption; it’s a rejection of history books that only tell stories about rich dead white dudes; it’s indicative of a desire for technology that’s easily understood, easily repaired, easily maintained; it’s hands-on; it’s a creative outlet; it’s pretty.
So “steampunks” are all about Victorians with ray guns? Because that’s kind of what it looks like.
Sometimes, but not exclusively. I would argue that steampunk has its roots firmly entrenched in the 19th century, yes — but there’s oodles of room for it to stretch its legs. Some people steam up WWI tech (for example, see Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel by Guinan and Bennett), or let the aesthetic influence stories and artwork even farther down the time line (see Mignola’s Hellboy). Aviator/aviatrix-chic is quite popular in steampunk fashion circles, but the early days of aviation represented are typically from the 19-teens to the 1940s.
There are scores of “second world” steampunk settings — which is to say, pretend places that look very much like the 19th century did here in the real world somewhere on planet earth (i.e., the “first world”).
I’ve also seen people push it back the other direction a century or two. These stories or costumes (reflective of periods before steam power was in common use) are often referred to as “clockpunk” instead.
Clockpunk? Are there any other punks we should be made aware of?
Well now, I don’t think it’s really necessary to split hairs. But if you wanted to, I guess you could. I’ve seen stitchpunk, dieselpunk, gaslightpunk, steamgoth, and other variants; but really, I think these things all fall under the steampunk umbrella.
To make an easy comparison for the sake of instruction, I’d point to romance novels. You can read historical romances, contemporary romances, time-travel romances, paranormal romances, and many, many other kinds of romances (believe me, I know — I used to work at a giant used bookstore). But at the end of the day, they’re all romances. You know them when you see them.
Where did the term “steampunk” come from, anyway? I’d never heard it before, and suddenly I’m hearing it everywhere.
Actually, the word has been around for a while. It is generally-agreed-upon that “steampunk” first appeared in a letter written to Locus magazine in 1987. Author K. W. Jeter was looking for a general term to describe his material (as well as the material of some of his contemporaries) set in the 19th century or 19th-century-like worlds, with strange tech and wondrous marvels.
He said: “Personally, I think Victorian fantasies are going to be the next big thing, as long as we can come up with a fitting collective term for Powers, Blaylock and myself. Something based on the appropriate technology of the era; like ‘steampunks’, perhaps…”
His usage here was a riff on the label “cyberpunks,” a then-newish and very popular genre that was very science-fiction-forward, loaded with bad-ass hackers, virtual reality tech, and (frequently) predictions of a dystopian future.
So what do steampunks … um … do?
Most steampunks have a jolly old time handcrafting jewelry, trying on corsets and cravats, building robots, turning squirt guns into ray guns, writing retro-futuristic fiction, having great big meet-ups, taking pictures of each other, and doing all sorts of other marvelously playful, resourceful things.
Also, we hold down day jobs, have families, clean litterboxes, meet deadlines, go shopping for groceries, vacuum under the couch, eat cupcakes, read books, moisturize, and just about everything else that everybody else does all the time.
That’s just how we roll.
I must know: Why goggles?
Goggles are fashion shorthand for ACTION, ADVENTURE, ACTIVITY, and other words that don’t even necessarily begin with “A” but definitely ought to appear in all-caps. They imply motion and maybe dangerous work — which means that if you’re caught wearing them, you’ve been interrupted while doing something wild.
Besides. They’re cool.
So, can you name or recommend some things that are steampunk?
Sure. Lots of people think that Gibson and Sterling’s The Difference Engine deserves an early mention, and it no doubt does. And in addition to the aforementioned Boilerplate and Hellboy, check out fiction by Tim Powers, James Blaylock, Michael Moorcock, and K. W. Jeter; or some of the more recent stuff by Jay Lake, Ken Scholes, Ekaterina Sedia, China Miéville, George Mann, Stephen Hunt; look into nonfiction works of Jess Nevins (his League of Extraordinary Gentlemen annotations, and The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana for starters); for that matter, pick up the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen graphic trades (though for the love of God, skip the movie); check out some of Joe Lansdale’s “weird west” material; visit also Ann and Jeff VanderMeer’s anthologies; look into the webcomic Girl Genius.
Watch the old Wild Wild West tv show; turn off the sound and watch the 1999 movie with Will Smith and Kevin Kline. View Steamboy; Howl’s Moving Castle; The City of Lost Children nails the sentiment nicely. Play the video games Arcanum, Final Fantasy VI, and Bioshock (which nails the vibe without the time period). Listen to Abney Park and Rasputina; tune in to the Clockwork Cabaret. Play Unhallowed Metropolis.
Or don’t. Maybe just poke around the internet and see if there’s a steampunk group or club near you, and swing by a meet-up. Look online via sites like Steamfashion or (for U.K. readers) the Brass Goggles forums. Ask around. Steampunks are increasingly visible, and they tend to be a pretty inclusive lot — happy to proselytize and welcome newcomers.
(Really, though — everything mentioned above is just for starters. There’s scads more out there, and it’s usually not too difficult to find.)
What was that about a manifesto, again?
If you’d like to read a little more about my own experiences getting involved with steampunk, as well as my idea of its core philosophies, go here to my essay on the subject. It’s more of a Steampunk 102 than a Steampunk 101 (like I intend for this post to be), but if you’re interested in the subject, it might prove helpful.
Can I ask a question?
Absolutely, and I’ll try to answer it. Your results may vary, I warn. But I’ll give it an honest go. Email me at cherie.priest@gmail.com or comment here.
But that’s all I can think of for now.
Thanks for reading!
September 13th, 2009 at 4:29 am
It’s a good manifesto.
Might I add THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE and ANNO DRACULA as reading, and suggest the movie TIME AFTER TIME?
For nonfiction, I suggest VICTORIAN PEOPLE AND IDEAS
September 13th, 2009 at 4:41 am
I must second The Difference Engine. It should definitely be mentioned in a SteamPunk primer. (IMHO)
September 13th, 2009 at 5:28 am
I love your answer to goggles!
September 13th, 2009 at 11:47 am
Kudos! Well done!
Beside this I want to add a real great source which I highly recommend when you are interested in steampunk: Steampunkopedie.
“The ultimate stempunk compendium”
Latest news from 3rd of November 2009:
“The ultimate steampunk compendium has resumed its regular activity. The most up-to-date versions of our vast databases: Steampunk Chronology, Dieselpunk Chronology, Steampunk Links and Steampunk TV are available in English again.”
September 13th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Agreed, THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE must be included in any Steampunk primer/FAQ for “recommended reading”.
September 13th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
[...] Steampunk FAQ — Cherie Priest tells all. In case you were wondering. [...]
September 13th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
What a great blog! I turned in my first steampunk manuscript to my agent at the beginning of summer and it’s now out on submission. So far, so good. I attended Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer’s Colorado Gold conference this weekend and steampunk is all the buzz. Del Rey is interested in taking a look at mine, so off it will go as soon as I contact my agent tomorrow.
A couple of new steampunk novels will be released next month, one called SOULLESS by Gail Carriger. The other one is a middle grade novel by Scott Westerfield called LEVIATHAN.
September 14th, 2009 at 1:24 am
At the risk of sounding trite, great post! Entertaining and informative.
September 14th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
[...] puts together a steampunk primer while Sarah Hope Williams delves into the history of stitchpunk. [The Clockwork Century, [...]
September 14th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
The gadgets on the new SyFy series, WAREHOUSE 13, are all very steampunk.
September 14th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
[...] you still trying to figure out if you’ll like steampunk or not? Cherie Priest has put up Steampunk FAQ after the numerous request she received while at a recent book trade [...]
September 15th, 2009 at 5:36 am
Why bother explaining these things anyway? I prefer leaving things as vague and undefined as possible, with the attitude that one either “gets it” or one does not.
I would also take great umbrage to the passage “we hold down day jobs, have families, clean litterboxes, meet deadlines, go shopping for groceries, vacuum under the couch, eat cupcakes, read books, moisturize, and just about everything else that everybody else does all the time”…. some of us are trying to live our lives as far away from normal modern society and its current memes as we possibly can. For some of us, the idea is not just to dress up and roleplay for awhile and then go back to conventional life, but to eke out an entirely new self-created zeitgeist for ourselves to occupy, set up camp in that reality, and NEVER COME BACK.
To paraphrase Mark Twain, “Everybody talks about the past but nobody does anything about it”
September 15th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Although a very good definition of WHAT steampunk is, I offer an expansion on the “why.”
Steampunk is not only a rejection of disposable culture and wasteful consumption but also, more importantly, the neo-Victorian acceptance/championing of a culture that pays respect to history, experience, craftsmanship and stewardship as the key values.
Kind of an anti-MTV-generation value system.
September 15th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
well then, i just wrote a fiction anthology that contains steampunk in it without even knowing it! i guess i should keep up with the space-shuttle speed of the genre-generating machine! check out the book, Let Slip the Dogs of Love (Suburban Legends of the Living and the Dead), online at amazon and barnes & noble.
September 20th, 2009 at 2:56 am
[...] Priest has added a .Steampunk FAQ to her Clockwork Century [...]
September 20th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
[...] post this Saturday. Here’s a link a to Cherie Priest of The Clockwork Century’s Steampunk FAQ. Hopefully that will answer any newcomer’s questions about this strangest and almost [...]
September 21st, 2009 at 3:22 pm
[...] theclockworkcentury.com » Blog Archive » Steampunk FAQ By awesome author Cherie Priest! An intro to steampunk, for those of you who still aren’t sure what it is or why it rocks. [...]
September 30th, 2009 at 12:08 am
In response to the reply post above from Seraphex, I agree with the first part & his description, but my view is that, according to his defenition of steampunk as a thriving neo-culture that values history, experience, ..etc. etc., it could also very well be pro-MTV, at least back in the 80s when MTV first came out and actually had music videos on. In that time, many people were influenced by the massive new music culture and spreading of ideas through all the new musical outlets, i.e. music videos, sythesized music… which then of course greatly influences history and mankind. In other words just to say that his steampunk could also logically be pro-MTV.
October 5th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
[...] be the next big trend to hit the YA market? I believe will be the next big thing will come from the Steampunk genre. And the author that will usher in this new trend to YA is Scott Westerfeld with his new [...]
October 8th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Nicely done, Cherie. I’ll add some material to chew on:
- Steampunk is big in SecondLife too – the city of New Babbage, for one, is a living, breathing steampunk city. It’s a virtual answer to the ‘what do steampunks do’ question. This week, for example, we’re busy ridding a section of the city from a plague of zombies, using steampowered weapons fired from small airships. *grin*
- Professor Calamity wrote a steampunk manifesto with a passionate Che Guevara feel to it. We reprinted it on the New Babbage wiki.
October 9th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Very well said!!
Now, I’m off to go and get a copy of your new book! I’m looking forward to reading it.
October 17th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Hello from Russia!
Can I quote a post in your blog with the link to you?
October 17th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
[...] Many people have questions about what Steampunk is. If you are one of those people, Cherie has a Steampunk FAQ at her site The Clockwork [...]
October 18th, 2009 at 12:39 am
Hey there
And of course you can!
Help yourself …
November 3rd, 2009 at 1:48 am
Thank you for this monograph on the subject. I only know of steampunk from two influences:
1) I read The Difference Engine when it first came out.
2) I see steampunk people and art at Burning Man.
That’s it. A nascent novel that rattles my skull probably fits the genre (though I am of course much more interested in the story than in fitting any genre). But I’ve read no others, ever; and that Wild Wild West movie was real dumb.
November 16th, 2009 at 9:43 am
[...] Steampunk FAQ – The Clockwork Century [...]
November 18th, 2009 at 3:29 am
Brava. I’m linking this in the section of my oh-so-cluttered sidebar on Steampunkery. This is a very good “Just what *is* all this stuph?” post, indeed.
January 1st, 2010 at 2:54 pm
Thank you very much for this comprehensive definition! A friend of mine directed me to this page, and it answered all of my questions
June 30th, 2010 at 3:46 am
[...] Some of these are the first in a series (I’ve marked these with an asterisk) or the first in a set of companion books that are set in the same Steampunk-inspired world. Of course, all of you have been enthusiastic about this post. Here is a link shared by another reader about what author Cherie Priest has to say on the often tricky question, “What is Steampunk?“ [...]
July 31st, 2010 at 2:12 am
[...] Steampunk is not just a literary genre, but an entire aesthetic movement. You can read steampunk books, watch steampunk movies, play steampunk video games, and wear [...]
October 3rd, 2010 at 6:30 am
[...] – General FAQ – Steampunk 101 – A List of [...]
October 15th, 2010 at 3:40 am
[...] Steampunk FAQ [...]
October 15th, 2010 at 7:25 am
[...] Steampunk FAQ [...]
November 6th, 2010 at 8:20 am
[...] Steampunk FAQ [...]
November 22nd, 2010 at 9:56 am
[...] Steampunk FAQ – The Clockwork Century [...]
February 16th, 2011 at 3:38 pm
[...] Cherie Priest, author of Boneshaker, wrote a great FAQ. Check it out here. [...]