I'm Alison Fincher. I host Read Japanese Literature, a podcast about Japanese Fiction and some of its best works. Each episode provides not just information about authors and books, but about important historical and cultural contexts. Most are less than 40 minutes and run about twice a month. Along with each episode, I post a complete bibliography and a long list of resources—many are accessible on-line for free.

But Read Japanese Literature is more than just a podcast. It's also a resource for people who want to read and enjoy Japanese fiction in English translation. I keep of lists of Japanese fiction available in English translation, including up-to-date information about the latest titles coming into print. (You can find reviews my reviews of almost all newly-translated books from Japanese in the Asian Review of Books.)

What Will You Be Funding?
Professors across the country point their students in the direction of Read Japanese Literature. That's possible because real academic research goes into each episode and post.

By becoming a patron, you help me pay for access to peer reviewed journals and books published by academic presses.

Why Japanese Literature?
Translated literature is important. Fiction lets us read through the lens of people who have been to places, experienced things outside of our reach. When we learn about a literature's context, we avoid reading it just because it’s “exotic” or “cool”. Besides, books are so much reacher when we know what sorts of experiences what sorts of ideas and experiences the authors and original-languages readers might have had.

Most importantly, great stories transcend culture. They ask and sometimes answer some of life's most important questions like what is it to be human? what gives life meaning?

Japanese literature provides a unique perspective on the 21st century. Its contemporary fiction is some of the first to address the issues facing the developed world in the 2020s, especially the exhaustion of culture and economy. There has also been a fascinating push by English-language translators in the last decade to bring an exciting number of female authors into English translation.

Who Am I?
My first love is English literature. I have a master’s degree in English from Oxford University, and I taught middle and high school English for almost a decade. My degrees may not be in Japanese, but they have taught me the importance of interdisciplinary research. RJL's resources make bring history, politics, philosophy, and culture a part of the story, too.

I have been reading and studying Japanese literature exclusively for almost five years. I have published almost 30 reviews of contemporary Japanese fiction, and have friendships with Japanese-to-English translators all over the world. In 2021, I passed Japanese Language Proficiency Exam for an ability to understand basic Japanese.