​Japanese-language literature has been both read and written in Brazil for more than a century, creating an ever-expanding corpus of works. The talk will introduce these literary activities, focusing on the first decades of their production. In addition to presenting the authors, newspapers, bookstores, and readers in Brazil, the talk will also raise some questions about what makes up "Japanese literature" -- and all other identity-based groupings of literary texts.

This lecture is sponsored by UW's Department of Asian Languages and Literature and Washin Kai.  Nominal support provided by the Consulate General of Japan in Seattle.   

About the speaker:

​Edward (Ted) Mack is a professor of modern Japanese literature and the director of the Center for Japanese Studies at the University of Washington. His first book, Manufacturing Modern Japanese Literature: Publishing, Prizes, and the Ascription of Literary Value (Duke University Press, 2010), examines the relationship between the concept of a national literature and the publishing industry. His second book, Acquired Alterity: Migration, Identity, and Literary Nationalism (University of California Press, 2022) explores the literary activities of Japanese migrants to Brazil prior to the Second World War. It was awarded the MLA Scaglione Prize for East Asian Studies for outstanding scholarly works in the field of East Asian (or East Asian diaspora) literary or linguistic studies in 2023.

• The lecture is free and open to public.
• The lecture will also be livestreamed. 
• ​Registration required for both in-person and online attendance.
• Registration link below will be activated after March 17th, 2026. 

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