Polly Barton & Aoko Matsuda: Telling Japanese Ghost Stories: A Creative Workshop
This event forms part of Aoko Matsuda and Polly Barton's joint translation residency
Part of the Humanities Cultural Programme
Saturday 03 June 2023, 14:00 - 16:00, BST
Taylor Library, Oxford
Please book here
Forget Halloween - in Japan, summer is the season for scary stories. During the Buddhist festival of Obon, which takes place in mid-August, it is believed that spirits from the afterlife return to roam the Earth. Traditionally, Japanese ghost stories are told around this festival, when the chills that run down your spine also provide relief from the intense summer heat.
During this creative workshop, you will join Japanese writer Aoko Matsuda - the internationally-acclaimed author of Where the Wild Ladies Are, a collection of contemporary feminist retellings of traditional Japanese ghost stories - and her English translator Polly Barton, to learn more about Japanese folklore and its relevance in Japan today, as well as their experiences writing and translating the book.
Drawing inspiration from traditional Japanese ghost and yōkai tales, you will then write your own summer ghost story. At the end of the workshop, you will have the opportunity to read your story aloud in a traditional ghost story circle - if you dare!
This workshop is for ages 13 - 18.
The joint residency with Aoko Matsuda and Polly Barton forms part of Polly Barton’s Visiting Fellowship at TORCH, as part of the Humanities Cultural Programme. This joint residency is generously supported by the Daiwa Foundation, the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, the Stephen Spender Trust, the Queen's College, Oxford, and TORCH.
For a full list of the events as part of this joint residency please see below:
aoko_matsuda_polly_barton_residency_poster_1.pdf
