Posted by Tom Baker
Kanazawa JET Michael Frazier is set to lead a poetry workshop at this year’s Japan Writers Conference (Oct. 12-13 in Tokyo). Here’s the official description:
Haibun, Tanka, Pecha Kucha—Contemporary English-Language Poets & Japanese Forms
Craft Workshop
This workshop focuses on the influences of unsung Japanese poetic forms on contemporary English language poetry and spoken word. We’ll watch and read haibun, pecha kucha, and tanka. We’ll discuss the forms and write our own poems using one of the forms. This generative workshop is open to writers of all genres.
In particular, we will look at less common forms (haibun & tanka) and newly-invented forms (Origami & Pecha Kucha). The Pecha Kucha, based on a Japanese business presentation style, was pioneered as a poetic form by American poet Terrance Hayes. It is this type of ingenuity this workshop is to focused on. In this workshop we will look at poems by writers of color who practice “re-approaching” by using Japanese forms like Aziza Barnes, Sonia Sanchez, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Amiri Baraka, and Terrance Hayes. We will discuss the content of their poems, why they used the form, and how they reinvented. Participants will be asked to choose a form and write something new in the workshop.
Michael Frazier graduated from NYU, where he was the 2017 Poet Commencement Speaker & College Union Poetry Slam Invitational Co-Champion. He has performed at venues such as Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Nuyorican Poets Cafe, & Gallatin Arts Festival. His poems appear in The Visual Poetry Project, Day One, The Speakeasy Project, & others. Catch him reading poems for The Adroit Journal & teaching SHS in Kanazawa.
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Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, Kariya-shi, 1992-94) is the founder of JETwit, a member of the JETAA USA Board of Advisors, and Director of Legal English Programs at St. John’s University School of Law in Queens, NYC, “the most ethnically diverse urban place on the planet.” He also writes for the St. John’s Legal English Blog.
I was recently interviewed for a podcast episode by Louise Kulbicki, founder of StudyLegalEnglish.com, about the legal English work I do at St. John’s Law School with the LLM students and other non-native English speaking students there. Since my experience on JET teaching English and learning to function well in a cross-cultural environment has been core to my current career, and since JETs often want to know what people do after JET, I thought I’d share the interview here in case of interest.
Here’s a link to the podcast episode titled “LL.M. Legal Writing Tips with Stephen Horowitz”
Topics covered:
- Legal English LLM programmes for non-native speakers
- Legal English writing challenges and tips
- Using IRAC – Issue, Rule, Application, and Conclusion
- Understanding categorization
- Legal English resources
And here’s the video version of the podcast:
To learn more about what I do, or if you’re interested in getting into the field of legal English, you can read more at the St. John’s Legal English Blog. Feel free to contact me as well. (Did I mention I’m fortunate to work with two other JET alums at St. John’s Law School?)
Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email
Job Title: Associate Program Officer, Arts & Cultural Exchange
Posted by: The Japan Foundation
Location: New York, NY
Contract: Full-Time
Here’s a job received directly from the organization:
Established by the Japanese government in 1972, the Japan Foundation’s mission is to promote international cultural exchange and mutual understanding between Japan and other countries. The Japan Foundation’s activities consist of three major programs: 1) Arts & Cultural Exchange; 2) Japanese-Language Education Overseas, and 3) Japanese Studies and Intellectual Exchange. For more information, please visit our websites at www.jfny.org and www.jpf.go.jp.
The Japan Foundation, New York seeks an Associate Program Officer for the Arts and Cultural Exchange program. This program promotes the introduction of Japanese arts and culture as well as exchanges between Japan and the United States through various fields of arts and culture. This position will report to the Program Director of Arts and Cultural Exchange.
More Information and To Apply: https://www.jfny.org/karashi/wp-content/uploads/Job-Announcement201909.pdf
Posted by Tom Baker
A trio of current JETs – Micah Tasaka, Yoshika Wason, and Michael Frazier – will be among nearly 50 published writers making presentations at this year’s Japan Writers Conference (Oct. 12-13 in Tokyo). Here’s the official description of what they’ll do:
Beyond Borders: Creating Connective Writing Communities
Reading, Panel, and Q&A
In this presentation, we will discuss how to build international writing communities, utilize internet resources, and create publishing opportunities for one another. Ultimately, we want to explore the connective power of writing communities in our home countries and abroad while focusing on creating mutual support and legitimacy for other writers.
While publishing is often thought of as written work being “accepted” by a publisher, we would like to question what publishing means and focus on how to build international communities that support and create opportunities for one another. Through this discussion, we seek to dismantle the scarcity complex that often surrounds publishing and find new ways to get our work in front of audiences by means of collaboration and community support while utilizing internet resources to extend our reach to a global scale. With backgrounds in both written and performance art, we would like to redefine publishing to be more inclusive and community based. By establishing communities that are willing to hear and experience one another’s work, can we create space for more writers to be legitimized? In doing so, how can we ensure that those who exist in the margins are also heard from and not just established writers?
Micah Tasaka is a queer mixed Japanese poet and spoken word artist from the Inland Empire, California, residing in Fukui prefecture, Japan. They received their undergraduate degree in creative writing from the University of California, Riverside. Micah is a community organizer and has taught workshops on publishing manuscripts, poetry performance skills, and using poetry as healing for trauma survivors. Their first full length manuscript, Expansions, was released on Jamii Publishing in 2017, and their work has appeared in In the Words of Women, Name and None, and Nikkei Uncovered among others.
www.micahtasaka.com
Yoshika Wason is a teacher and writer. She earned her BA from Boston College, where she was Editor in Chief of ASIAM, an Asian Pacific Islander American literary magazine. She is continuing her work in the API community through her current role as Co President of the Asian Pacific Islander Association for Japan Exchange and Teaching (API AJET.) Yoshika is working on her first full length poetry manuscript currently titled Second Chances for Fallen Blessed Children and also has a self published micro chapbook called Extra Bold. She currently writes a monthly education column
called Today’s Lesson and has been published in Ghost City Review, Rice Paper Magazine, The Paper Napkin, and elsewhere. Learn more at
www.yoshikawason.com
Michael Frazier graduated from NYU, where he was the 2017 Poet Commencement Speaker & College Union Poetry Slam Invitational Co-Champion. He has performed at venues such as Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Nuyorican Poets Cafe, & Gallatin Arts Festival. His poems appear in The Visual Poetry Project, Day One, The Speakeasy Project, & others. Catch him reading poems for The Adroit Journal & teaching SHS in Kanazawa.
For more information about this year’s Japan Writers Conference, visit www.japanwritersconference.org.
Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email
Job Title: Staff Writer
Posted by: Nichi Bei Foundation
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
Contract: Full-Time
Here are a couple of jobs received directly from the organization:
Ten-year-old nonprofit ethnic community newspaper with a 120-year historic legacy of community leadership through media is seeking a dedicated, hard-working individual to write about community news and issues.
Job Description: The staff writer position is multifaceted, covering a variety of community news, breaking news and feature stories for a bi-weekly nonprofit ethnic community newspaper based in San Francisco’s Japantown. The position is budgeted for 32 hours per week, with full medical, dental and vision premiums paid after a three-month probationary period.
Candidate should possess the following qualities and qualifications:
- B.A. in journalism or equivalent
- Strong writing, editing and grammar capability with attention to detail
- Strong interviewing skills
- Ability to work efficiently under pressure and under deadlines
- Background in issues pertaining to Japanese American and Asian American communities
- Photography skills
- Background in Adobe InDesign and Photoshop preferred
- Japanese language skills a plus
- A natural curiosity
- Multimedia skills (video) a plus
Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email
Job Title: Part-Time Bookkeeper/Office Manager
Posted by: Nichi Bei Foundation
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
Contract: Part-Time (may be combined with another position for more hours)
Here are a couple of jobs received directly from the organization:
The Nichi Bei Foundation, a nonprofit educational and charitable foundation serving the Japanese American community, is seeking a part-time Bookkeeper/Office Manager, between 15-20 hours a week. The Nichi Bei Foundation publishes the Nichi Bei Weekly, a nonprofit Japanese American community newspaper, and presents educational programs.
This is an excellent opportunity for an individual who seeks part-time work, flexible hours and meets the following requirements:
QUALIFICATIONS
- Past Bookkeeping/Accounting experience 3+ years
- Person must be proficient in Quickbooks and Excel and CRM (customer relations management) software (DonorView preferred)
- Strong organizational, analytical and problem solving skills
- Self-motivated, efficient and shows initiative
- Excellent communication skills both verbal and written
- Ability to work in a small office environment
- Produce accurate work
- Ability to manage multiple tasks
- Knowledge/familiarity of Japanese American community preferred
Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email
Job Title: Multi-Cultural Executive Liaison
Posted by: MonoSol
Location: Merrillville, IN, USA
Contract: Full-Time
Extremely exciting opportunity for the right candidate to utilize their extensive knowledge and experience in both the Japanese and US cultures and languages.
MonoSol (Chicagoland Area) is the most exciting, fast-growing Division of the widely known and respected Kuraray company in Japan. Seven years after a merger, MonoSol is becoming more involved in the global growth of Kuraray. This role will be the critical liaison between our President and Executive Leadership team and members the Kuraray Company in Japan and other parts of the world.
Responsibilities
- Translation and Communication
- Translate reports Japanese:English: Japanese
- Coordinate and attend meeting where translation is required in Japan and USA and Europe for CEO and other Executives in real time
- Coordinate and Plan logistics for Various Executive and Collaboration Meetings in Japan
- Coordinate and schedule meetings for the CEO in Japan with all stakeholders
- Participate in the preparation of slide decks in Powerpoint
- Draft white papers and investment review reports and send to Corporate Planning department
Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email
Job Title: Global Health Program Officer
Posted by: Japan Center for International Exchange USA
Location: New York, NY, USA
Contract: Full-Time
Thanks to JET alum, Stephen Mchugh for the following job opening with his organization:
Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA) is currently looking for someone to fill the role of Program Officer for our global health programs. More Info here: http://jcie.org/201908-job-announcement
Some additional info about the job:
This would be a senior position for someone who already has some professional experience, especially in the field of global health or human security. We are looking for people who are excellent writers in English but are also comfortable working in a bicultural English/Japanese work environment. Since JCIE is a small office the Program Officer will be responsible for multiple aspects of global health programs at JCIE including; managing donor/grant relations, developing new proposals, and implementing existing programming.
Application Process: Interested applicants should send their resume and a cover letter to smchugh@jcie.org.
Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email
Job Title: Education Abroad Coordinator
Posted by: California State University Los Angeles
Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Contract: Full-Time
Here’s a JET-relevant job passed along to us:
By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe–shi, 2001-02). Justin has written about Japanese arts and entertainment for JETAA since 2005. For more of his articles, click here.
As the summer winds fade into fall colors, the weeks ahead are shaping up with these exciting events, ready to be enjoyed after Labor Day.
This month’s highlights include:
Courtesy of Babymetal
Sunday, Sept. 15, 8:00 p.m.
Terminal 5, 610 West 56th Street
$59.50
First NYC appearance in three and a half years! Su-metal and Moametal are a genre-smashing duo of teenage girls who perform a fusion of metal and idol music dubbed kawaii (cute) metal. After playing to a capacity crowds at Hammerstein Ballroom in 2014 and PlayStation Theater in 2016, the group returns to support its long-awaited third album Metal Galaxy, coming in October. After opening for bands like Metallica, Guns N’ Roses and the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2017, Babymetal is one of the biggest (and widely known abroad) Japanese musical acts today. Featuring support from Swedish metal group Avatar, promoting their recent release The King Live in Paris.
Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc.
Monday, Sept. 16, 8:00 p.m.
Gramercy Theatre, 127 East 23rd Street
$27.50
Returning to North America for the first time in five years, Man with a Mission are one of the most important and loved rock bands in Asia today, having collaborated with artists ranging from Patrick Stump to milet. Their newest single “Dark Crow” has been selected as the theme song for the second season of NHK’s TV anime series Vinland Saga, and the tour supports the release of their most recent album, Chasing the Horizon. The album is the wolf collective’s fifth in their native Japan but their first brand new album to be released worldwide and has received widespread critical acclaim.
GKIDS
Sept. 17 & 19, 7:00 p.m.
Regal E-Walk 42nd Street 13, 247 West 43nd Street
AMC Empire 25, 234 West 42nd Street
AMC 34th Street 14, 312 West 34th Street
$12.50
The first feature-length film from the acclaimed Studio TRIGGER, creators of the hit series KILL la KILL and Little Witch Academia, and director Hiroyuki Imaishi (GURREN LAGANN, KILL la KILL), Promare uses a bold cel-shaded visual style to tell a blistering action-adventure story, and is the spiritual successor to many of director Imaishi’s former works. Thirty years has passed since the appearance of Burnish, a race of flame-wielding mutant beings, who destroyed half of the world with fire. When a new group of aggressive mutants calling themselves “Mad Burnish” appears, the epic battle between Galo Thymos, a new member of the anti-Burnish rescue team “Burning Rescue,” and Lio Fotia, the leader of “Mad Burnish” begins. The Sept. 17 screening is presented in English. The Sept. 19 screening is presented in Japanese with English subtitles.
Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email
Job Title: Corporate Relations Manager and Marketing Coordinator
Posted by: Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia
Location: Philadelphia, PA, USA
Contract: Full-Time
Here are listings for a Corporate Relations Manager and Marketing Coordinator at the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia that were passed along to us:
http://japanphilly.org/about/work-with-us/
Job: Global Health Program Officer – Japan Center for International Exchange (New York, NY, USA)
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Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email
Job Title: Global Health Program Officer
Posted by: Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA)
Location: New York, NY, USA
Contract: Full-Time
Thanks to JET alum, Stephen Mchugh for the following job opening with his organization:
Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA) is currently looking for someone to fill the role of Program Officer for our global health programs.
This would be a senior position for someone who already has some professional experience, especially in the field of global health or human security. We are looking for people who are excellent writers in English but are also comfortable working in a bicultural English/Japanese work environment. Since JCIE is a small office the Program Officer will be responsible for multiple aspects of global health programs at JCIE including; managing donor/grant relations, developing new proposals, and implementing existing programming. Interested applicants should send their resume and a cover letter to smchugh@jcie.org.
Application Process: http://jcie.org/201908-job-announcement
Job: Associate Director/Director of Graduate Admissions and Global Engagement School of Law – St. John’s University (New York City, NY)
Jobs Comments Off on Job: Associate Director/Director of Graduate Admissions and Global Engagement School of Law – St. John’s University (New York City, NY)
Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email
Job Title: Associate Director/Director of Graduate Admissions and Global Engagement School of Law
Posted by: St. John’s University
Location: New York City, NY
Contract: Full-Time
A great JET-relevant opportunity at St. John’s Law School, where I work along with two other JET alumni.
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We are hiring for a new Associate Director or Director of Graduate Admissions and Global Engagement at St. John’s Law. You can find the position description and application here:
This is a wonderful opportunity for someone passionate about international legal education who seeks to be a part of a warm, collaborative, and highly-productive team. It will involve significant international recruitment travel, as well as oversight of our LL.M. admissions operations.
Suzanne Kamata to speak at Japan Writers Conference
Books, Japan Writers Conference, JET Alum Author Beat, Notable JET Alums, Writers Comments Off on Suzanne Kamata to speak at Japan Writers Conference
Posted by Tom Baker.
JET alum Suzanne Kamata will be among nearly 50 published writers making presentations at this year’s Japan Writers Conference (Oct. 12-13 in Tokyo). Here’s the official description of her talk:
“Wheelchair User or Wheelchair-bound?: Representations of Persons with Disabilities in Children’s Books”
Short lecture with Q & A
In this session, I will discuss positive and problematic representations of persons with using examples from recently published Japanese textbooks, and literature featuring children in Japan and other countries, including my own work, with a view to developing better awareness. With the approach of the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, people with disabilities in Japan have been given more attention than perhaps ever before. English textbooks for Japanese children now frequently include stories about or representations of people with disabilities. Worldwide, initiatives such as #weneeddiversebooks and the call for #ownvoices have led to an increase of children’s and young adult books featuring characters with disabilities. That said, some of these representations, and the way that they are discussed remain problematic. When do stories about disability become “inspiration porn”? What kind of language should we use when discussing disability? Who has the right to tell these stories?
Suzanne Kamata is the award-winning author or editor of twelve published books including “Love You to Pieces: Creative Writers on Raising a Child with Special Needs” (Beacon Press, 2008), “Gadget Girl: The Art of Being Invisible” (GemmaMedia, 2013), “A Girls’ Guide to the Islands” (Gemma Open Door, 2017), “Squeaky Wheels: Travels with My Daughter by Train, Plane, Metro, Tuk-tuk and Wheelchair” (Wyatt-Mackenzie Publishing, 2019), and “Indigo Girl” (GemmaMedia, 2019). She is an Associate Professor at Naruto University of Education.
For more details, visit http://www.japanwritersconference.org/
Jennifer Hammer to speak at Japan Writers Conference
Events, Japan Writers Conference, Writers Comments Off on Jennifer Hammer to speak at Japan Writers Conference
Posted by Tom Baker.
JET alum Jennifer Hammer will be among nearly 50 published writers making presentations at this year’s Japan Writers Conference (Oct. 12-13 in Tokyo). Here’s the official description of her talk:
“NaNoWriMo: What Are These Syllables and Why Do Writers Care?”
This lecture will focus on what exactly NaNoWriMo is, the pros and cons of writing 50,000 words in thirty days, and how writers can benefit from this online (and real life) community during the official November event, in April and July for “Camp NaNo,” and with writers of varying levels from around the world. Why should a writer care about these four syllables? Because NaNo is a great resource for writers, can be adapted to schools (and/or clubs), and is a way to make friends for life (as well as connect with the 5AM writing club, whichever time zone you’re in).
Jennifer Hammer is the Tokyo Municipal Leader (ML) for NaNoWriMo and a four-year NaNo winner. She writes whatever pretty idea catches her attention, all the way from super hero romance (White Knight) to creepy-crawly horror (JA Hammer) to fantasy video games (Coffee Quills).
For more details, visit http://www.japanwritersconference.org/
