Kazuko Shiraishi

Born in Canada in 1931, the poet Kazuko Shiraishi has published nearly 30 collections of poetry and her work has been translated into over twenty languages, including English and French. In her teens, she published in Kitasono Katue?s magazine VOU, and was involved with the world of Japanese Modernism and Surrealism. In 1951, while a student at Waseda University, she made her poetic debut with Tamago no Furu Machi?(The town that rains eggs). From the 60s, after a period of inactivity, she again began to compose poetry. In 1970, with Seinaru Inja no kisetsu ?Seasons of Sacred Lust?, she was awarded the first of her many prestigious literary prizes, the Mr. H Prize. This work brought the spirit of modern jazz and American Beat poetry into modern Japanese poetry. She also organized her own unique performance poetry readings, reading her poetry to the accompaniment of improvized jazz, In 1973, she was invited to the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, and since then has been invited to give poetry readings at poetry festivals and conferences in Europe, America, Asia, Central America and many other countries. She has published many poems inspired by her travels and meetings with poets all over the world.

Two of Shiraishi Kazuko?s books have appeared in English translation:

Seasons of Sacred Lust - The Selected Poems of Kazuko Shiraishi, Edited with an Introduction By Kenneth Rexroth, and with translations by Ikuko Atsumi, John Solt, Carol Tinker, Yasuyo Morita, and Kenneth Rexroth. New Directions, New York, 1978.

Let Those Who Appear, Translated by Yumiko Tsumura and Samuel Grolmes, New Directions, New York, 2002.

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