The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (FCCJ)  is pleased to announce the upcoming Book Break event on Thursday, June 27, 2024.

Book Break: Hiromi Ito (伊藤比呂美), author of "The Thorn Puller （とげ抜き  新巣鴨地蔵縁起）"
Thursday, June 27, 2024 from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm

(The author will discuss her book in English and Japanese with English interpretation by Jeffrey Angles, the translator of the book, and take questions during this dinner event.)      

Described as a "shaman of poetry," poet, author and essayist Hiromi Ito, is a leading figure in the Japanese literary scene. Critics have described her skills as "allowing the voices of others to flow through her," while noting that her literary vision is drawn on Japanese folklore, poetry, literature and pop culture. In the 1980s, Ito has gained a reputation for her strong feminist writing based on unflinching honesty about female sexuality, pregnancy and motherhood. After her divorce in Japan, Ito moved to the United States with her children, continuing to write and producing an impressive body of literary work. Now in her sixties, the author has moved back to Kumamoto. Her books have been translated into English, German, Norwegian, Chinese, Korean and Swedish. Translations are in progress for editions in Danish, Spanish and Polish.

Ito will discuss The Thorn Puller, a novel published by Kodansha in 2007 that won the Hagiwara Sakutaro Prize for best work in modern poetry and Murasaki Shikibu Prize for the best work in literature written by a woman. It was translated into English in 2022. (Publisher: Stone Bridge Press.) The narrative is semi-autobiographical and written in alternating prose and poetry.  

At the book break, she will read her poems and discuss her writing. She will be accompanied by Jeffrey Angles, who has won awards for his translations and poetry (Yomiuri Literature Prize by わたしの日付変更線  written in Japanese).

Doors open at 6:00 pm. Dinner is served from 6:15 pm. The presentation starts at 7:15 pm.

Dinner includes coffee or tea and one other beverage. Choices are orange juice, oolong tea, white wine, red wine or beer. 3,000 yen for members, 4,000 yen for non-members.

Cancellations accepted up to 72 hours before the event. Please reserve at the reception desk or by email (front@fccj.or.jp). Non-members must pay by Monday, June 24th, 2024.

Online attendance (via Zoom) is available at 550 yen per person, by reservation.

Attendees with food restrictions should inform the club when reserving.

Thank you.

https://www.fccj.or.jp/event/book-break-hiromi-ito-yitengbilumei-author-thorn-puller-tokebaki-xinchaoyadezangyuanqi

Venue:
The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan
5F Marunouchi Nijubashi Building
3-2-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005
(https://www.fccj.or.jp/article/access-contact)

Library, Archives & Workroom Committee
The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (FCCJ)
https://www.fccj.or.jp/