In this week’s poetry news round up we bring you articles about the sad loss of two figures from the world of poetry.
Hirohiko Okano, Leading Japanese Tanka Poet Dies at 101
The respected Japanese poet, Hirohiko Okano, who selected the poetry for the Urakai Hajime annual New Year’s poetry-reading ceremony, has died due to heart failure at the age of 101.
Born in 1924 in the Mie Prefecture, he studied under Shinobu Orikuchi, the folklorist and poet, at Kokugakuin University. It was during this time that he joined the Torifunesha tanka society. His first book of poems won an award from the Kajins Association (a society for modern tanka poets) in 1968.
He was also responsible for giving guidance on tanka writing to Emperor Hirohito (known posthumously as Emperor Showa) as part of his role as an adviser to the Imperial Household Agency. From 1979 to 2008 he served as a selector of poems that were submitted for recitals at the Utakai Hajime.
Okano’s collections of poetry include “Soroka” which was awarded the Choku award for outstanding tanka, “Umi no Mahoroba” whish won a Cultural Affairs Agency art award and “Baghdad Moyu” which received an award from the Kajins Association.
In addition to his many literary awards he was also a recipient of the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1988. This is a Japanese medal of honour that is given to those individuals who have made academic achievements in the fields of sport, academia, arts and culture. In 1998 he was made a member of the Japan Art Academy and in 2013 he was selected for a Person of Cultural Merit. In 2021 he also received an Order of Culture.
Carol Rumens, The Guardian’s Poem of the Week Columnist Dies Aged 81
The British poet Carol Rumens, who wrote the poem of the week column for the Guardian newspaper for almost 20 years has died at the age of 81 having been diagnosed with a brain tumour just a few weeks ago.
Her poems, which were often deeply political, were published in over a dozen collections, including De Chirico’s Threads, Animal People and Blind Spots. She also wrote fiction, plays, criticism and published poetry in translation. She started her poetry column in October 2007 and over the course of two decades she developed a strong readership and responded to every column in the comments section.
She studied towards a philosophy degree but didn’t finish this and went on to study for a postgraduate diploma in writing for the stage. She published her first poetry collection in 1973 with several collections following during the 1980s. She collaborated on a number of translated volumes of poetry from Russian including some by the poets Evgeny Rein and Irina Ratushinskaya. She taught at the University of Hull, where she was instrumental in establishing an MA in creative writing, and she was also a long-time visiting professor at the University of Bangor.
Shortlisted for the Forward poetry prize in the category of best single poem twice, she was a winner of the Society of Authors Cholmondeley award.
You must register to comment. Log in or Register.