A session of talks on poetry and poetry reading was held at the Kioicho Campus, Josai University Educational Corporation on Friday, March 26th, 2010 jointly by Josai International Center for the Promotion of Art and Science and Carillon Avenue, a coterie magazine, inviting Mr. Jerome Rosenberg who was visiting Japan at that time.

Mr. Jerome Rosenberg is a folklorist who has translated the poetry of Native North Americans into English as well as one of the poets representative of contemporary America. As interlocutors, Mr. Gozo Yoshimasu, Visiting Professor of Josai International University and an old friend of Mr. Rosenberg, and Ms. Kazuko Shiraishi, poet, participated in the event.

There were about 20 participants in the session, including Ms. Aki Sagawa, poet, among others, and poetry editors, teaching staff of the Josai International School Faculty of International Humanities, and graduate students whose research topic is poetry.

At the opening, Chancellor Mizuta gave the opening remarks, saying, “I would like to thank Mr. Rosenberg for giving a lecture at Josai International University for the second time. A globally-active poet, Mr. Gozo Yoshimasu, teaches at this university, and moreover, contemporary poetry is taught in classes at the graduate school. So I am very pleased to be here today to listen to the talks on poetry and poetry reading in this session participated also by Ms. Kazuko Shiraishi, my long time friend in poetry.”

In the tripartite discussion between the three well-known poets, sympathetic debate was conducted on the history of American contemporary poetry that started with Kenneth Rexroth, the significant impact that Mr. Rosenberg’s translation of American Indian poetry into English had on the subsequent American world of poetry, Mr. Rosenberg’s idea of regarding poetry as a place of performance, and the importance of participants’ perception of something being generated from that particular place.

Mr. Rosenberg actually recited a poem titled “Kemono(Beasts).” All the participants felt as if they were seeing the vision of a vast field of grass where beasts were roaming and experienced the importance of the place, as they listened to the word “Kemono” repeatedly in various intonations.

To conclude, Ms. Shiraishi’s own poem, “Little Planet” was read, followed by Mr. Rosenberg’s reading of the same poem translated into English by Mr. Allen Ginsberg. Thus, the session ended with happy applause.