Gordon Van Gelder

Q-1.

What country/ethnicity/culture do you identify yourself with?

 

A-1.

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American, principally. Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jewish secondarily.​

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Q-2.
 

SF/F/Horror/Slipstream genre has always been dominated by Anglo-American language. Is Anglo-American genre fiction is your major influence?
 

A-2.

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I might disagree with your assertion that SF/F/H has always been dominated by Anglo-Americans, but to answer your question, my major influences are mostly-Anglo-American.

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Q-3.
 

Give us the ratio of your reading of Anglo-American fiction against your own or non-English literature. Currently.
 

A-3.

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Most of my reading is submissions for F&SF. I don’t try to calculate what percentage of it belongs to any particular group.

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Q-4.
 

To our dismay, a lot of so called World things are actually American ones. From Baseball's World series to our genre's Worldcon (almost) or World Fantasy Awards. How can we correct it to its real structure, into the real chaotic world?
 

A-4.

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By my count, 18 of 69 Worldcons have been held outside the US――that’s 26%.

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Q-5.

Yet, it's true that we're culturally much influenced by American pop culture. Haruki Murakami cannot write like he does now without his American literature and Jazz influence. Is it the same for your case? Can you imagine you write without that influence at all?
 

A-5.

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No one is free of influences.

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Q-6.
 

But these days a lot of young writers and editors work in English language and for American market. Do you hold any grudge against working like this? Or is it a natural reaction to that influence?
 

A-6.

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Speaking as one of those editors, I don’t hold a grudge. I will say that as a magazine and anthology editor, I try hard to bring non-Anglo works to an English-speaking audience. I’ll also say that it’s extremely hard to do so.

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Q-7.
 

If and when you have to write in English, do you do that to English-American readers, or to the global readers?
 

A-7.
 

(No Comment)

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Q-8.

Is there any works or writers from your local scene you can sincerely recommend to the world readers? And why do you recommend them? Is it because they have no equivalent works or writers in Anglo-American scene? Or is it because they perfectly fit there and have many things in common that we should share? Which do you think is important, originality, or affinity?
 

A-8.
 

(No Comment)​

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Q-9.
 

Have you ever read and liked any Japanese works, in and out of our genre? What aspect of it attracted you?
 

A-9.
 

I’ve read a variety of Japanese writers――Ryu Murakami, Koji Suzuki, Project Itoh, Edogawa Rampo――but I don’t know that I can point to any particular aspects that stood out to me.

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Q-10.
 

Could you please explain what you do to promote foreign literature to your readers or your own works to foreign readers?
 

A-10.

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Whenever I can, I publish stories from around the world that I like.