Join Jean Gordon Kocienda for Writers’ Night Out Open Mic at Mac’s in Fairfax, CA
Join Jean Gordon Kocienda at Mac’s at 19 Broadway, Fairfax, where she will talk about and read from her new novel Girl in a Box. She’ll talk about why a Japanese poet from a century ago could still make her laugh and cry.
The local writer community meets monthly on the back patio of Mac’s, which is a lively local pub. There are heat lamps, but bring warm clothes. Plan to buy a drink. Jean will be the featured presenter, but other authors will also read their work. Jean will have books to sell at the event.
About Girl in a Box:
The tangled life of the Japanese poet Yosano Akiko
In early twentieth century, Japan, women have few rights. Yet one precocious poet—a brooding daughter, locked in her room at night by protective parents—runs away from home to live a life of her choosing . She falls in love with a fellow poet and follows him across Siberia to Paris, where they witness the last days of the Belle Êpoque. She perseveres through poverty, back-to-back pregnancies, infidelity, earthquake, and fire, to become a name every Japanese schoolchild knows today as a pioneering feminist poet and the first person to translate the classical Tale of Genji into modern Japanese. In her single-minded dedication to her art, she inflicts wounds on a daughter that echo from her own childhood. She sets out to make amends, knowing it may be too late. Based on the life of poet Yosano Akiko (1878-1942) and filled with original translations of her poetry, Girl in a Box will ignite the discussion about the female artist’s challenge to create while juggling family, career, and personal freedom. Historical fiction at its best.
About Jean Gordon Kocienda:
A former intelligence officer and Silicon Valley geopolitical analyst, Jean Gordon Kocienda is now focused on writing and volunteering with refugee families in the Bay Area. Jean holds a B.A. in English Literature (Colgate University) and M.A. in International Affairs (George Washington University). Currently nestled in the redwoods of Marin County with her husband and cats, she has lived in Japan and speaks Japanese. She is President of the California Writers Club Marin Chapter.
