At 7 p.m., members of the University of Iowa Japanese Program’s Workshop in Japanese Literary Translation will read with fiction writer Sawanishi Yūten and poet Okamoto Kei, both members of the 2024 International Writing Program (IWP). At 8 p.m., a diverse group of IWP participants will read from their work, alternating with a group of international writers associated with the Kyoto Writers Residency, who will join us via Zoom from Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto.

This event connects Japanese program student translators with IWP writers and poets and translators in Japan. Our audience has an opportunity to hear Japanese poems and stories in English for the first time anywhere.

Featuring the following authors:

Yuten SAWANISHI 澤西祐典 (fiction writer, scholar; Japan) is the author of Furamingo no mura [The Village of Flamingos] (2011), which received the Subaru Literary Prize; Moji no shōsoku [Letters of Letters] (2017); and Ame to karasu [Rain and Raven] (2018). His story “Filling Up with Sugar” appears in The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories, which was edited by Jay Rubin with a preface by Haruki Murakami. Sawanishi teaches at Ryukoku University and serves as a coordinator of the Kyoto Writers Residency. His participation was made possible by the UI Center for Asian and Pacific Studies and the Stewart Memorial Fund.

OKAMOTO Kei 岡本啓 (poet; Japan) is the author of three poetry books. His debut collection, Graffiti (2014), won two major early-career awards — the Nakahara Chūya Prize and the Mr. H Prize — and his second poetry collection, Zekkei Note (2017), won the prestigious Hagiwara Sakutarō Award. Okamoto also writes essays, designs his own books, and collaborates with artists in creating works for display in museums. He is currently writing a series of poetry reviews and critiques for the newspapers Tokyo Shimbun and Chunichi Shimbun. His participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

This event is co-sponsored by the Center for Asian and Pacific Studies, International Programs, the International Writing Program, and the Department of Asian and Slavic Languages and Literatures.