Symposium Yosano Akiko: The Hidden Lives of a Japanese Woman Writer
Although Yosano Akiko died more than eighty years ago, the story of her life is being retold even today. What is it about her life and work that continues to appeal to our imagination?
Both Akiko’s oeuvre and life story are extraordinary: she ran away from home to marry for love and had eleven children, her debut collection of poetry shook the nation, and her critical essays were published in major magazines—all at a time when being a professional writer was still considered the prerogative of men. This symposium will give insight into Akiko’s life as a professional woman writer and the different ways in which her story has come down to us, specifically by looking at what her oeuvre does not—or cannot—tell us explicitly.
Wednesday 16 September
14:00 – 17:00
Kartini Auditorium, University Library
Witte Singel 27, 2311BG Leiden
This event is free. Registration is mandatory
RegisterFirst, Ivo Smits will talk about Akiko’s poetry. Then, Daphne van der Molen will go into Akiko’s social commentaries. After the break Jean Gordon Kocienda will discuss her novel Girl in a Box, a novelization of Akiko’s life. The afternoon will end with roundtable discussion of Akiko’s life and legacy moderated by Beste Sevindik.
Program
13.30 Doors open
14.00 Opening
14.10 Ivo Smits - Poems, poems: Yosano Akiko and Holland, and that other Europe
14.40 Daphne van der Molen - Finding a voice: Yosano Akiko’s early critiques
15.10 Break
15.40 Jean Gordon Kocienda - Girl in a Box: The Life of Yosano Akiko in Fiction
16.10 Roundtable + Q&A, moderated by Beste Sevindik
17.00 Join the speakers for drinks at Leidse Lente
Girl in a Box
Jean Gordon Kocienda’s recent historical novel is based on the life of poet Yosano Akiko (1878-1942), a fiery feminist who is to the Japanese what Emily Dickinson or Virginia Woolf are to readers of the English language. Filled with original translations of Akiko’s tanka poetry, Girl in a Box follows Akiko as she runs away from home in search of creative freedom—and finds that love and motherhood are shackles, too.
A limited number of copies of Girl in a Box will be sold at the event and can be paid for in cash or with PayPal. The author will be happy to sign copies of her book.