hiromi suzuki : part five

Why is poetry important? 

To tell the truth, excuse me, I feel embarrassed to speak about poetry. Looking around, many people do not need poetry. For me, poetry may be important. Besides poetry, my creation is the only way of communication with others. Of course, I don't want to say "Look at me!". Rather, as an anonymous, I am happy if more people enjoy their life by my work. I just love to create.

hiromi suzuki : part four

How does your work first enter the world? Do you have a social group or writers group that you work ideas and poems with?

I was a member of Japanese poetry magazine gui for six years. gui is run by members of "VOU" group, founded by the late Katsue Kitasono. (But all members of "VOU" had passed away.) By the way I had been a commercial illustrator. Kitasono was a poet, photographer and designer. And he had been exchanging letters with Ezra Pound. I left gui at the end of 2018. However, I will continue to make concrete poetry, visual poetry (also called "plastic poem" by Kitasono) as ever, taking over the gene of Kitasono. With my independent style.

hiromi suzuki : part three

How important is music to your poetry?

I love music. I don't think "music is important for poetry", but aim for "poetry that music sounds like". Lines of words like melodies. Poetry partakes of the nature of music.

hiromi suzuki : part two

How did you first engage with poetry?

In my childhood, I was Selective Mutism. I was in the world of imagination alone, so I read books, wrote poetry and drew pictures. I started writing poems in earnest at teens. At that time, I met the books of E. E. Cummings and Richard Brautigan, and love their poems still now.

hiromi suzuki : part one

hiromi suzuki is a poet, artist living in Tokyo, Japan. The author of Ms. cried, 77 poems by hiromi suzuki (kisaragi publishing, 2013), logbook (Hesterglock Press, 2018) and INVISIBLE SCENERY (Low Frequency Press, 2018). Her works are published internationally in Otoliths, BlazeVOX, Empty Mirror, Burning House Press, DATABLEED, MOONCHILD MAGAZINE, Hotel, talking about strawberries all of the time, Mookychick, ambush review, Coldfront, and 3:AM Magazine. More work can be found at hiromisuzukimicrojournal.tumblr.com.

Twitter: @HRMsuzuki

What are you working on?

Now I'm trying to translate my first poetry collection 'Ms. cried' 77 poems by hiromi suzuki (kisaragi publishing, 2013 ISBN978-4-901850-42-1). Poems in collection are written almost in Japanese, partly in English. Japanese writers have translators, but I am not. However, since subtle nuances of poetry can be expressed by my own translation, I enjoy my work. I'm submitting several translated pieces to literary journals. I hope these will be liked by editors.