Modernist Thai Short Stories, 1964–1973: The Relationship with Art

A number of distinguished Thai short stories from 1964 to 1973 reveal new and distinctive features in terms of subject, form, concepts and style. These features are similar to those of modernism, which was an international movement in literature and the arts that began in the late 19th century and continued into the early 20th century. The similarity suggests the direct and indirect influences of the modernist style upon Thai writers. Furthermore, the change in style of some of the short stories indicates a relationship with the art movements: impressionism, expressionism, cubism and surrealism, which were subsidiary art movements within modernism. These specific features of the Thai short story signify a radical break with the traditional writing of the time.