Poetry Reading and Book Talk: Sonic Peace

Gen Sou En
299 Harvard Street, Brookline, MA 02446
Sunday, March 25 at 3 PM - 5 PM

On Sunday, March 25th at 3:00 pm, Gen Sou En will host a free and public book talk with Spencer Thurlow and Eric E. Hyett in honour of their book, Sonic Peace, a book of poetry by Kiriu Minashita. Spencer and Eric translated the text from Japanese to English, and will discuss the difficulties they faced during the translation process as well as give a reading from the book. Upon the completion of their reading they will be selling/ signing copies of their book. Also during the event minor refreshments will be provided by Gen Sou En.

Kiriu Minashita (b. 1970 in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan) is the author of Sonic Peace. She is a professor of social philosophy at Rikkyo University, and the author of two books of poetry, as well as eight books of critical writings. She is one of the most popular scholars of contemporary Japanese society, appearing often as a commentator in newspapers and on TV. The poems of Sonic Peace are filled with rain, reflecting Minashita’s childhood on the outskirts of Tokyo, where rain was the only authentic encounter with nature.

Spencer Thurlow is a poet and writer who grew up on Martha’s Vineyard. He spent the past 3.5 years living in Kochi City, Japan, translating poetry and working as an English teacher. His work has recently appeared in The Worcester Review, The Comstock Review, and others.

Eric E. Hyett lives in Brookline, MA, and works as a poet, copywriter and translator. He graduated from Harvard College in 1991 with a degree in Linguistics with Romance Languages, and a minor in Japanese. He was also a graduate fellow in MIT’s Program in the History and Social Study of Science and Technology. Eric is a member of Poemworks, the Workshop for Publishing Poets in Boston. His work has recently appeared in The Cincinnati Review, The Hudson Review, Barrow Street, Antioch Review, Nimrod, and Harvard Review Online.