Martin Gordon, former owner and director of the science publisher Gordon and Breach, would continually circle the globe, in his travels from office to office. Appearing unannounced, we knew he’d arrived when we heard his immediately identifiable laugh. Now, through the Net, I found out that he died on the 19th February this year, in Lausanne.
An American, a New Yorker, he was actively involved in the Sixties underground music, art and modern dance scene. However, with a science degree under his belt, he entered science publishing. He went on to set up (with a Mr Breach), Gordon and Breach, a science publisher with a significant programme of Soviet science in English translation.
Unusually for a science publisher, he later also set up an international arts publishing programme. He began with the performing arts, starting with contemporary music and dance, which he encouraged me to develop.
Over time, I suggested adding contemporary theatre. Then he requested international poetry in dual language editions. All of these forms of art were explored by publishing not only texts, but also videotapes, audiocassettes and CDs.
By the turn of the millennium Gordon and Breach had grown into a publishing group, and at a busy time for corporate take-overs, it was sold.
So came to an end a type of publishing where publishers like Martin Gordon encouraged editors to get to know their authors well, to take them out to lunch or dinner, attend concerts, theatre and dance performances with them worldwide, and to set up book and journal launches with them. Such pleasurable and creative interactions have now more or less disappeared, paradoxically partly due to the development of the Net.
Martin Gordon could on occasion be difficult to work for, but he was also charismatic and entertaining, and he encouraged creativity and innovation.