The poet, prose author, and essayist Itō Hiromi is one of the most prominent and innovative literary authors in contemporary Japan. Her prize-winning narrative texts defy conventional categories of genre, oscillating between the epic and the lyrical, the autobiographical and the mythical, while constantly drawing on a wide range of classical and contemporary materials. Dividing her time between California and Japan (in particular Kumamoto and Tokyo, where she presently teaches Creative Writing at Waseda University), she brings a transnational perspective to Japanese literature.  She writes with a unique humor, seriousness, and urgency about a range of topics from the commonplace to issues of life and death. This workshop will offer inroads into her multi-faceted oeuvre, discuss its impact in Japan and beyond, and provide an opportunity to directly experience the poetic power and persuasiveness of her artistry.  

Programme

 13.30 Irmela Hijiya-Kirschnereit: Welcome and Introduction

14.00 – 14.45 Noriko Hiraishi, Tsukuba Univ.: Itō Hiromi as an eye-opener: the Provocative Agency of the Female Body

14.45 – 15.30 Niels Bader, FU Berlin: "The Daughter as Bodhisattva? Itō Hiromi’s Explanation of the Heart Sūtra between Languages and Genres"

15.30 – 16.00 Coffee Break

16.00-16.45 Jeffrey Angles, Michigan Western Univ.: Trauma(tic) Translation: On Translating Itō Hiromi

16.45 – 17.45 Itō Hiromi: Reading and Talk

Moderation: Irmela Hijiya-Kirschnereit

Questions by Yvonne Kröll, Sven Schelhas, Marina Staack

17.45 – 18. 30 General Discussion, Audience Q & A

Participation is free, but registration is requested by Jan. 25 with Irmela Hijiya-Kirschnereit i.hijiya@fu-berlin.de