Upcoming Interview with Chadwick Ginther On Monday, October 22, 2012
I did a review of Chadwick Ginther’s Thunder Road on September 21st, and after reading it, I knew that I should talk to Mr. Ginther about his vision of Norse mythology and its role in Canadian SF, the social significance of tattoos, and regionalism in Canadian SF. I hope that you enjoy reading the Interview with Chadwick Ginther on Monday, October 22, 2012
Here are some quotes from the interview:
Chadwick Ginther: “The Norse gods seemed more real—more human—to me even then. Not only could they die, but most of them knew when, where and how it was going to happen. The inevitability of Ragnarök fascinated me.”
Chadwick Ginther: “One doesn’t have to travel too far north of Winnipeg to find true wilderness, and that wilderness is, at least according to local folklore, already full of monsters. Lake Manitoba is rumoured to have its own lake serpent (Manipogo). The Interlake region, between Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba, is home to many reputed sasquatch sightings; Carman Manitoba has had numerous UFO sightings; Winnipeg’s downtown is full of supposedly haunted buildings. I looked at existing paranormal belief, tried to explain it in a Norse context, and then let the monsters loose on the page. Manipogo became Jormungandur, the Midgard Serpent; sasquatch became my jötunn.”
Chadwick Ginther: “I don’t think Mythology will ever stop being relevant. It was our ancestors’ way of trying to explain what they couldn’t understand. At their core, people have the same basic desires, faults and virtues as we ever have, some of us are kind, some jealous; we’ll always be able to see something of ourselves in these stories from the past. Otherwise the myths would have faded with their original tellers.”
Chadwick Ginther: “Often in fantasy, and specifically in urban fantasy, power can come with either a sacrifice or in a violation of self—vampires and werewolves both evoke that sense of having one’s normal life stolen.”
Chadwick Ginther: “No one really thinks of Manitoba when they think of fantasy. Hopefully that will change.”
Chadwick Ginther: “I hope that Thunder Road can inspire readers to look more closely at their homes to find those ties to the mythological past.”
Chadwick Ginther: “People call speculative fiction “escapist,” as if that is a bad thing. I live a realistic life. Why would I want to spend my time writing about only the drudgery of everyday.”
Chadwick Ginther: “With mythic fiction, and really all of speculative fiction, I can have my cake and eat it too. I can have an exploration of deep philosophical issues or the nature of humanity side by side with big, bold ideas and an action-packed read. I can’t think of another art form that blends the two sensibilities better than speculative fiction does.”
Chadwick Ginther: “Fiction by definition isn’t true, but it can hold truth—even when you’re writing about the god of lies.”
I hope you enjoy his insights as much as I did. Tune in to Speculating Canada on Monday, October 22, 2012 for more of Chadwick Ginther’s thoughts and ideas.
I love this interview, and wholeheartedly agree on the “escapist” thing. If I wanted to feel like something was so real it could be happening next door, I would go next door.