So lately, due to the work I’ve been doing for THE APEX BOOK OF WORLD SF, coming out this November (get it! get it! get it!), I’ve had the opportunity to learn a little more about World SF in general.
I’ve had a little taste of this with a few Chinese authors in translation, and a *lot* of international literature in general. I wish I could say I’ve read a lot more, but until now I haven’t really been sure how to get my hands on this stuff. Now, I’ve found a doorway: Lavie Tidhar, who is the editor of THE APEX BOOK OF WORLD SF, has over the past year put together a blog called The World SF News Blog. It features articles and news about international science fiction. It’s also a great place to start digging in and getting exposed to some truly awesome fiction. I’ve added it to my sidebar links, so feel free to head over there anytime!
Just finished reading Anna Feruglio Dal Dan’s story in STRANGE HORIZONS titled “And This Also Has Been One of the Dark Places of the Earth”. It’s beautiful and spellbinding, and short! Give it a read if you’ve got a quick ten minutes. I guarantee you won’t want to trade those minutes for anything else.
I must say, this whole experience really makes me want to beef-up my Chinese and my smidgeon of Russian. I WILL READ DREAM OF RED CHAMBERS IN CHINESE ONE DAY! (And Crime & Punishment (3rd or 4th time) in Russian!) Granted, you don’t have to speak any other language than English to get fantastic international fiction in translation! ^_^ Which is a good thing until I get better at speaking, let alone reading, any other languages.
Maggie Slater 