Contemprary Tanka Poet Mariko Kitakubo. Reading Performance.
Tanka reading performance oveseas.
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On June 29th, 2024, PDT, I hosted a Japanese home-cooked lunch party to express my gratitude to the people who helped me during my stay in California. During the party, I had the opportunity to perform a Japanese-English tanka reading. |
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I want to acknowledge Ms. Deborah P. Kolodji, the co-founder of Tan-Ku, who participated in the reading and brought depth and profundity to our performance. It was heartening to see that those who were new to Tanka reading enjoyed it with great interest. Some of them even recorded videos of our performance, which was a very rewarding moment for me. |
Wednesday, July 3, 2024
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On June 26, 2024, PDT, I presented two Japanese-English tanka sequences at the Art Gallery in Monrovia. I played BGM with my percussion that I brought from Japan, and Mr. Rick Wilson's flute added a special touch to my performance. The theme of my performance was the ever-changing nature of life. Ms. Susan Dobay, the gallery director, was moved to tears by my performance and enjoyed it greatly. It was a very honorable moment for me. |
Wednesday, July 3, 2024
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On June 25th, PDT, I attended the Poetry Zoom Meeting in Pasadena, California. The meeting was hosted by Mr. Michael Czarnecki, an exceptional poet who creates English poems, tanka, and haiku. The theme of the meeting was "Return." During the meeting, I presented a reading performance of my two tanka sequences, "Return to the History" and "Return to My Childhood." I was honored that the audience, who usually do not have many chances to hear Japanese-English tanka readings, enjoyed my performance. |
Wednesday, July 3, 2024
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On June 21, PDT 2024, during a summer solstice evening in Santa Monica, I took part in the poetry event at the Rapp Saloon. I wholeheartedly thank everyone who appreciated my performance and for their continuous applause. Thank you very much. I hope to have the chance to see you again in the future. |
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Monday, June 24, 2024
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On June 8, 2024, the International Institute for Japanese Studies Joint Workshop was held at Hosei University Graduate School, Room S306, Sotobori Building, Ichigaya Campus. Overall Flow: First Half: - Introduction to Tanka poetry. - Reading some pieces from Manyoshu and Modern Tanka, two sequences themed about pets and one piece themed about Father's Day. - Sharing my bizarre yet funny experiences during solo travels for tanka presentations across different countries. Second Half: - "Easy Order Tanka" activity, where participants selected their favorite type of tanka from seven examples and arranged the first or second half of the tanka in their preferred way. - Participants were encouraged to create a completely original tanka as well. - The workshop concluded with group representatives making stage presentations using percussions provided at the workshop. The workshop was highly successful, and I regretted not recording the participants' presentations. Each student group engaged in discussions to create tanka pieces on varied themes such as a familiar ramen flavor, a casual interaction in daily life, and a deep exploration of reincarnation. I found the participants uniquely authentic and intelligent and was pleasantly surprised by their rich expressions based on the small suggestions and advice provided. I express sincere gratitude to the professor for attention to detail and overall support. Thank you very much. |
Monday, June 10, 2024
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On March 24, 2024, I hosted an online Tanka workshop via Zoom organized by Ms. Flavia Garcia in Montréal. It was the second workshop, and the content was the same as the one I did at La Livrerie the day before. During the workshop, I presented Tanka reading in Japanese and English and introduced the attendees to the art of Tanka. I also explained the percussion instruments I used during my reading performance for background music. After that, the participants created their Tanka and presented them to the other attendees. I thank those who participated in the workshop on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. It was delightful to hear that some participants attended this online workshop because they missed the previous day's workshop. I hope this event will be an excellent opportunity for people to get familiar with Tanka poetry. |
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
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The weather in Montreal, Canada has turned cold this morning after being mild until last week. However, despite the powdery snow falling since morning, I was delighted to see many people attend the tanka poetry workshop organized by Ms. Flavia Garcia at La Livrerie. The audience filled the venue. After my brief presentation on Japanese-English reading performance and lecture, I answered questions from the attendees. We ended the event with an open mic session where attendees shared their tanka and enjoyed playing percussion I brought from Japan. It was an afternoon filled with gratitude and appreciation for the great interest in Japanese literature among the younger generation, not only English speakers but also French speakers. |
Sunday, March 24, 2024
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Ms. Flavia Garcia, a poet residing in Montreal, Canada, kindly invited me to take part in the Poetry Event called "Soirée de poésie et traduction" held on March 21, 2024, at La Sala Rossa, a live music club located in Montreal. It was an extraordinary evening with 12 performers presenting their unique style of poetry in various languages. I was deeply impressed by the attention to detail of the organizers. I take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who commented after the performance that they were "moved" and "deeply healed." I extend my special thanks to Mr. Osvaldo Rabunal, the musician who added the tongue drum background music to my performance. Thank you all very much. |
Sunday, March 24, 2024
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On February 16, 2024, I had the pleasure of participating in a reading event by Drank Poets Tokyo at Garigari, a live house in Ikeunoue, Tokyo. Among the members were individuals I had met at the publication celebration party for Tokyo Poetry Journal Vol.14 last December. Today, I presented a reading in Japanese and English of my previously created tanka sequence, "BanyanTree," which I composed during my past stay in India. I was grateful to share this experience with everyone. Thank you all so much. |
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
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On December 9, 2023, I had the privilege of reading at the launch party of the Tokyo Poetry Journal Vol. 14. The event took place at Ryozan Park Lounge in Sugamo, Tokyo, and it was an incredibly enriching and meaningful experience for me. Each previously designated presenter shared their unique expressions on stage, making it a memorable few hours. I extend my heartfelt thanks to Ms. Joy Waller for organizing this event. Thank you very much. Photo by Mr. Edward Levinson. |
Monday, December 11, 2023
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