By Michelle Hines, University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-5371
Posted 3-06-07
GREENSBORO, NC – Man who loves Haiku
March wind carries from Japan.
His name is Gilbert.
Dr. Richard Gilbert, a haiku enthusiast who is an associate professor of British and American literature at Kumamoto University in Japan, will visit UNCG Wednesday, March 21.
Gilbert’s speech is entitled “Did the Frog Jump into the Old Pond?: The Haiku in Contemporary Poetry.” It begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Wachovia Lecture Hall, 200 Science Building. His visit is co-sponsored by the Center for Creative Writing in the Arts, the International Poetry Review and the Department of German, Russian and Japanese Studies at UNCG.
After studying at Naropa University with the likes of Gary Snyder, Gregory Corso and Allen Ginsberg, earning a master’s degree in psychology, working 10 years as a psychotherapist in a mental health center and nearly becoming a Buddhist monk, Gilbert ultimately devoted himself to the study of literature with a particular focus on the art of the modern haiku. Haiku in its modern form consists of three lines, totaling 17 syllables. The first and third lines must each contain five syllables; the second line must have seven syllables.
He has published numerous papers and articles focusing on cross-cultural and language issues in modern Japanese and English-language haiku which have placed him at the forefront of contemporary haiku criticism, both of contemporary Japanese haiku and contemporary haiku in English. The Japan Ministry of Education, Science and Technology recently awarded him a two-year grant to research modern Japanese haiku in cross-cultural and international contexts.
For more information, contact Dr. Mark Smith-Soto at (336) 323-3775 or mismiths@uncg.edu.
