Lunch with Rebecca Otowareported by Lisa Wilcut WiK members gathered on the misty afternoon of March 14 for a lunch talk with Rebecca Otowa at Ume no Hana near Karasuma Oike. The congruence of season and venue hinted at the deep connections with time and place that are a hallmark of Rebecca’s works, which are …Read More
Author: John Dougill (Page 16 of 45)
by Preston Keido Houser There once was a monk from Tangier Whose prayers left him nothing to hear But by embracing the violence Of interminable silence Did a mantra appear to his ear There once was a monk from Bayonne Who was blind to the beam he was shown But by loving his eyes Did …Read More
Meet Your Inner Witch in Just Five Easy Stepsby Marianne Kimura Introduction: I’ve had to find out a lot about witches in the course of writing academic pieces about Shakespeare’s plays with witches, such as Macbeth, or in which some sort of magic occurs, like The Winter’s Tale. From my gleanings, I wrote this brief …Read More
A SINGLE THREADJames Woodham a single threadthe spider’s leaving light travelling along it breeze sliding it back a whiteness of wings –from the shore a heron liftsaway on water *********** egret takes to airwingtips grazing the lakegliding on shadow *********** a piece of the dusk breaks off and takes to the airbecoming heron leaves hardly movingfrom the depths of the blue …Read More
Here Comes Kenji by Kevin Ramsden It was late on a weekday afternoon, and James was nearly two-thirds into his second beer of the day. Raising his head from the reading of his newspaper, he gazed absently around the barely populated bar he was sat in, properly taking in his surroundings for the first time. …Read More
Western Writers in/on Kyoto[A highly subjective and selective account…]By Ken Rodgers The first Europeans to set foot in Kyoto, in 1551, were the missionaries Francis Xavier and Juan Fernandez, seeking selfies with the Emperor Go-Nara, during the later throes of the Sengoku period of warring states. Not a good time in the old capital. Xavier …Read More
1980s Poems I deal in demons Ya know what I mean? I see them in the daylight hours In banks, realtors outlets, Kiosks and inflatable houseboats. Pan and Prometheus know about The coming rain Another uneventful day is passing The man across the street white In his cotton shirt Scratches his balls and tugs at …Read More
(Review by John Dougill) Last night our friends at Kyoto Journal put on a spoken word event to coincide with the wonderful exhibition they mounted of foreign artists in Kyoto (until Feb 18). The venue was an attractive and spacious machiya, or former merchant’s house, and the display of artistic talent was quite stunning, ranging …Read More
The Last Snow in Kyotoby Marianne Kimura I wrote this hoping that the last big snow in Kyoto (January 26, 2019) will NOT after all be the last snow ever in Kyoto. (It is so far, one year and four days later, but who is counting?) ****************** Over several years, the snow had undoubtedly become …Read More
The Old Man on the Hillby Richard Holmes I could see him through the pillars that looked down over the charred remains. Smoke rose up languidly from debris scattered everywhere, interrupted by the occasional flame that would shoot out unexpectedly. He stood there in his pajamas and hospital slippers, staring vacantly through gaunt, sunken eyes …Read More
Kyoto Writing Competition
WiK Anthologies
The Nature of Kyoto (2023)
Eds. Lisa Twaronite Sone & Robert Weis
Foreword by Pico Iyer
Structures of Kyoto (2021)
Eds: Rebecca Otowa & Karen Lee Tawarayama
Foreword by Judith Clancy
Encounters with Kyoto (2019)
Eds: Jann Williams & Ian Josh Yates
Foreword by Juliet Winters Carpenter
Echoes (2017)
Eds: John Dougill, Amy Chavez, & Mark Richardson
Preface by Alex Kerr
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