Internationally renowned Polish poet Krystyna Dąbrowska participates as the first EU Fellow in the Kyoto Writers Residency
Polish poet, essayist, and translator Krystyna Dąbrowska, renowned for her international work, will participate as the EU Fellow in the Kyoto Writers Residency, from September 28 to October 27, 2024. The EU Fellowship, newly established this year by the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Japan, is a cultural initiative created specifically for writers from the EU Member States. This year’s Kyoto Writers Residency received over 190 applications, and the selection committee selected participants through a rigorous review process. Dąbrowska’s participation is expected to strengthen literary exchanges between the EU and Japan.
Additionally, on the evening of Saturday, October 12, the Delegation of the European Union to Japan will host a poetry reading and talk event titled “The Face of my Neighbour” featuring Krystyna Dąbrowska and Japanese poet Yasuhiro Yotsumoto. This event will be part of the European Literature Festival 2024 held in Tokyo. Both poets are internationally active and share many commonalities, particularly their sharp and deep observation of the world around them, reflected through the spirit of the traveler and poetic language. Both Dąbrowska and Yotsumoto have built extensive and dynamic networks with poets across the globe.
The event title, “The Face of my Neighbor,” is taken from one of Dąbrowska's major works, posing the question of how poetry can perceive and depict the presence of “The Other" on both a micro and a macro scale. On the day of the event, Dąbrowska and Yotsumoto will read their poems, exploring poetic approaches to the concept of the "neighbor" and discussing the possibilities of poetry in the modern world. Additionally, the Butoh unit Yubusha, and musician Hiroki Chiba will also participate, creating a mesmerizing live performance that blends poetry, music, and dance. The event is operated by the Goethe-Institut Tokyo.
Prior to the event, an online conversationbetween Krystyna Dąbrowska and Yasuhiro Yotsumoto will be available on the website. The online conversation provides a first insight to the literary worlds of both poets and is to be continued in the live event on Oct 12th.
- Krystyna Dąbrowska × Yasuhiro Yotsumoto Poetry Reading & Talk Event
Title: “The Face of my Neighbor”
Date & Time: Saturday, October 12, 19:00–21:00
Venue: Goethe-Institut Tokyo, Hall (7-5-56 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052)
Language: English (with consecutive Japanese interpretation)
Speakers/Performers (in no particular order): Krystyna Dąbrowska, Yasuhiro Yotsumoto, Hiroki Chiba, Yubusha
Organized by: Delegation of the European Union to Japan
Operated by: Goethe-Institut Tokyo
Please reserve your spot using the following link
https://face-of-my-neighbor.peatix.com
- Speaker Profiles (in no particular order)
Krystyna Dąbrowska (Speaker)
Warsaw-based Krystyna Dąbrowska, author of five volumes of poetry, is a celebrated literary figure in her home country, having won two of Poland’s most prestigious literary prizes: the Wisława Szymborska Award and the Kościelski Award (both in 2013), as well as the Literary Award of the Capital City of Warsaw (2019). Overseas, she received the Pushcart Prize (2024), was a finalist for the Derek Walcott Poetry Prize (2022) and longlisted for the National Translation Award in Poetry (2023). Her poems have been translated into more than 20 languages and have appeared in among others Harper's Magazine, Poetry, Threepenny Review and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. As a translator, she focused on translating Anglophone poets into Polish, including Nobel Laureate Louise Glück. She also regularly contributes to various cultural magazines as an essayist writing about poetry and art.
Yasuhiro Yotsumoto (Speaker and Moderator)
Poet, essayist, translator. Born in 1959 in Osaka, Japan, Yasuhiro spent most of his writing career outside Japan, the first eight years in the US and the subsequent 26 years in Germany, all the while writing in his native Japanese language. He has published 17 collections of poetry, 2 novels, and several volumes of translations, essays and literary criticisms. In 2020, Yasuhiro moved his main residence to Tokyo, where he teaches poetry in universities and regularly organizes Poetry Talks Live event in a live house in the Shinjuku district. He is a participant of the Iowa International Writing Program and Hong Kong International Writers’ Workshop both in 2023.
Hiroki Chiba（Performer）
Bassist/Composer. A musician who plays classical contrabass sound and atmospheric electronics. Up to now, he has released four solo albums. Above his own band Isolation Music Trio, he is a member of bands such as Hasunuma Shota Phil, Yugawa with Magic Band, Sangatsu, Sugadairo Trio. He is also active as a producer for arauchi yu (cero), Yugawa, Janis Crunch, etc., and arranged for cero, Luca Delphi and Furukawa, among others. As a live bassist, he works with UA, Shonen Yoshida, Marihiko Hara, Takuro Okada, Julia Shortreed, Takuma Watanabe, and others. With the Polish jazz trumpeter Tomasz Dabrowski's band “ad hoc”, he has released two albums.
Yubunsha（Performer）
Yubusha is a Butohunit centered around dancers Yuko and Keiko, and artist/dramaturg Suzuko. They are involved in collaborative productions with a wide range of artists, including visual artists, musicians, poets, and researchers, and engage in creative activities that explore the ideas and spirituality of dance culture, including butoh and folk performing arts. They create and explore the body as a form of prayer in the modern age.
The Kyoto Writers Residency is dedicated to providing a space for writers and translators from around the world to focus on their craft. Scheduled to launch its inaugural annual residency in the fall of 2022, the program collaborates with universities in Kyoto and various public and private organizations to support this initiative.
To introduce the richness and quality of European literature to a broader Japanese audience, the Delegation of the European Union to Japan, in collaboration with the embassies of EU Member States in Japan and EUNIC JAPAN (cultural institutes of EU Member States in Japan), has been organizing this literary festival every autumn since 2017. The festival includes lectures, workshops, and discussions where authors, translators, and other literary professionals share their passion for books with Japanese readers.
(Ambassador: Jean-Eric Paquet, Minato-ku, Tokyo)
Established in 1974, this diplomatic mission represents the EU in Japan. It works to coordinate the EU's 27 Member States, introduce Europe’s diverse history and culture to Japan, and plays a central role in promoting EU-Japan relations in areas such as diplomacy, trade and investment, climate and energy, digital technology, and research and innovation.
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