CLIMATIC FICTION AS A QUESTION AND AN ANSWER: AN ANALYSIS OF CONTEMPORARY CLI-FI

Climate fiction (more commonly cli-fi) is a relatively new yet highly influential literary genre focusing on the reflection of anthropogenic climate change and the environmental crisis more generally. The introductory part of the study outlines the development and characteristics of cli-fi and comments on the predominant dystopian tone of the works belonging to the genre. The subsequent practical section analyses seven selected examples in terms of climate change reflection in relation to the state of the fictional world, anthropocentric and biocentric perspectives, and representations of old and new societies. In the concluding remarks, the study draws on the findings of empirical ecocriticism to convey the current state of knowledge regarding the effect of climate fiction on readers.