Join us to celebrate the publication of the new series of Japanese chapbooks from Strangers Press. The series title, KANATA, from かなた, translates as ‘far out’ or ‘beyond’.

Join us to celebrate the publication of the new series of Japanese chapbooks from Strangers Press. The series title, KANATA, from かなた, translates as ‘far out’ or ‘beyond’. We’ll introduce you to three new and exciting voices from Japan and will invite you to take a step beyond the stories to meet the translators behind their journey into English.

Daniel Joseph brings us a lively and hilarious translation of Machida Kou’s The God of the Word, a witty and wry retelling of the Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters) completed in 712 CE.

Jesse Kirkwood will talk about his translation of Takiguchi Yoshio’s Kamachi/Pictures, two stories that consider the slipperiness of memory, partnerships, loss, and the stories men and women tell each other.

Yuki Tejima has translated Wataya Risa’s Then Why Ask Me To Come, about a man at a lockdown BBQ about to be confronted over something he thought would remain a secret…

The conversation will be chaired by poet and editor Erica Hesketh.

KANATA is published by Strangers Press in partnership with the University of East Anglia, the Norwich University of the Arts, the National Centre for Writing and GRRR Design, generously funded by the Yanai Initiative.