Monkey Business: Japan/America Writers’ Dialogue

NEW YORK, May 3, 2017 — Contemporary Japanese and American authors featured in the international literary journal Monkey Business engage in a lively conversation at Asia Society. Speakers include contributing editor Roland Kelts, and authors Hiromi Itō, Hiroko Oyamada, Matthew Sharpe, and Brian Evenson. The conversation is moderated by the co-founders and editors of Monkey Business, Motoyuki Shibata and Ted Goossen. (1 hr., 33 mins.)

DUE TO UNFORSEEN CIRCUMSTANCES, JAMACIA KINCAID WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ATTEND THIS EVENT

Join a lively conversation between contemporary Japanese and American authors featured in the international literary journal, Monkey Business. 

Continuing an ongoing collaboration with PEN World Voices, the Japan Foundation, and A Public Space, the Asia Society is delighted to host another international writers’ dialogue. Curated and moderated by the co-founders and editors of Monkey Business, Motoyuki Shibata and Ted Goossen, together with contributing editor Roland Kelts, this year’s featured writers are Japanese authors Hiromi Itō and Hiroko Oyamada, in conversation with American authors Brian Evenson and Jamaica Kincaid.

Matthew Sharpe will joining the conversation in then place of Jamaica Kinkaid.  Matthew Sharpe was part of Monkey Business #4 at Asia Society in 2014.

Each ticket includes a complimentary copy of Monkey Business (#7)

Video and articles from Asia Society Monkey Business events

Monkey Business is a unique, cutting-edge annual literary journal that showcases newly translated Japanese writing as well as contributions from contemporary American, Canadian and British writers. A genre-defying publication, Monkey Business has introduced manga renditions by top Japanese artists of Kafka, Lafcadio Hearn, and Bruno Schulz, as well as short stories, poetry, and essays by such noted writers as Paul Auster, Hideo Furukawa, Haruki Murakami,and Richard Powers.

Shop AsiaStore for Monkey Business #7 and past editions.

Biographies of Speakers

Brian Evenson teaches at CalArts and is the author of more than a dozen books of fiction, most recently the novella The Warren (2016). His novels include The Open Curtain (2008) and Last Days (2009), and he has published a number of collections of stories including Fugue State (2009), Windeye (2012) and A Collapse of Horses (2016).

Ted Goossen, one of the founding editors of Monkey Business, teaches Japanese literature and film at York University in Toronto. He is the general editor of The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories.

Hiromi Itō is one of the most important female voices in contemporary Japanese poetry. English translations of her works include Killing Kanoko: Selected Poems by Hiromi Itō and Wild Grass on the Riverbank, both translated by Jeffrey Angles and published by Action Books.

Roland Kelts, contributing editor to Monkey Business, is the author of the bestselling Japanamerica (2007). His articles, essays, and stories have been published in leading journals and publications including the New Yorker and the Wall Street Journal.

Jamaica Kincaid is professor of African and African American Studies in Residence at Harvard University. She is the author of five novels including Mr. Potter (2002) and Now Then (2013), and has also published a collection of short stories At the Bottom of the River (1983) and five books of nonfiction including Among Flowers: A Walk in the Himalayas (2005).

Hiroko Oyamada is one of Japan’s most promising young writers; she won the Akutagawa Prize in 2013. Her stories “Lost in the Zoo” and “Extra Innings” were translated by David Boyd and published in vol. 6 (2016) and vol. 7 (2017) of Monkey Business.

Matthew Sharpe creates a unique voice — or voices — in each of his works, which include The Sleeping Father (2003), Jamestown (2007), and You Were Wrong (2010). He has been described by the Washington Post as a "consistently surprising writer, who puts as many crazy demands on the English language as it's ever endured." He teaches creative writing at Columbia University.

Motoyuki Shibata, one of the founding editors of Monkey Business, teaches American literature and literary translation at the University of Tokyo. He has translated Paul Auster, Stuart Dybek, Brian Evenson, Kelly Link, and Steven Millhauser, among others.

Co-presented by Asia Society and Japan Foundation in coordination with Monkey Business and A Public Space.

In conjunction with The PEN World Voices Festival 2017: Gender & Power: Empower yourself with literature and ideas across borders.