Ask a Steampunk: Where Did the Term "Steampunk" Come From?
Science fiction author K.W. Jeter is credited with creating the term “steampunk” in 1987 to describe a style of fantasy fiction that featured Victorian technology, especially technology powered by steam. It was a tongue-in-cheek variant of “cyberpunk” fiction, replacing cyberpunk’s high-tech computers with the Victorian era’s cogs and factories. Jeter named it in a letter published in Locus magazine:
“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 “steam-punks,” perhaps....”
Both cyberpunk and steampunk deal with the relationship between humans and technology, with the humans providing the “punk” element as they struggle to control, break away from, or enhance the role of technology in their lives.
Once this pattern was established, more “fill-in-the-blank-punks” were identified. The next most popular is “dieselpunk”, which moves into the technology of the 30’s and 40’s; the move “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” is a good example of the style. Other examples are “atompunk”, moving into the atomic age of the 50’s and 60’s; “biopunk”, dealing with the ramifications of biotechnology; and “solarpunk”, which take a more hopeful view of our ability to cope with environmental issues.