The “Waseda International House of Literature Translation Project” aims to nurture translators, promote the field of translated literature, and foster international exchange among literary translators. Now in its second year, the project has expanded beyond the ongoing translator residency program to include invitations to international authors and editors to participate in lectures, discussions, and other exchange activities.
Following the residency of Camilla Grudova in May, we invited Rebecca Brown, a writer born in Washington State and based in Seattle, to stay from Wednesday, June 18 to Friday, June 27.
Here is a message we received from Brown after returning home.
I am very glad to have been invited to The Waseda International House of Literature. On June 25 I participated in a reading and conversation with Kumi Kimura, author of Someone to Watch Over You, her translator, Yuki Tejima, and my translator, Motoyuki Shibata. Kumi and I read passages from and talked about resonances between our work, including my then just re-released Japanese translation of The Gifts of the Body. The four of us had a blast together talking about books, words and Japanese and American literature. I was also able, over the course of my residency at Waseda University, to work on revising the final essay of a new collection of my work due out in the US later this year. In addition, I drafted some short pieces about animals for another collection. I also was frequent visitor to the student-run cafe at the Haruki Murakami Library. I enjoyed many a great cup of coffee there, and can highly recommend their spicy tomato pasta. It’s especially good when consumed while reading a book and listening to classic jazz.
※A report on the event held on Wednesday, June 25—“Authors Alive! — The Cutting Edge of International Literature: A Conversation between Rebecca Brown and Kumi Kimura” —will be published at a later date.
