Vancouver Japanese Language School-Japanese Hall: Room #408

In the 1940s, Japanese Canadian Issei wrote hundreds of haiku, shared through publications circulated within and between internment camps. Poets Carolyn Nakagawa and Yoriko Gillard reflect on their experiences reading these works and developing a translation approach rooted in historical context, aiming to replicate the experience of reading a Japanese-language haiku rather than conveying literal meaning. The event includes poetry readings in English and Japanese, followed by discussion and Q&A.

Carolyn Nakagawa is a fourth-generation Anglo-Japanese Canadian poet, playwright, and researcher. Yoriko Gillard, BFA (Honours), MA, PhD (ABD), is a contemporary artist, arts-based researcher, and Japanese language and culture educator born and raised in Japan.