An Author's Note to Follow My Latest Novel

Writers in Kyoto recently published on their website an author’s note that I wrote with the intention of placing it at the end of my current novel. On the WiK Facebook page, the Japanologist and author of such important books as Lost Japan was kind enough to comment on my piece: “Thank you for this excellent introduction to Kyoka, my favorite Japanese writer of the 20th century.” As someone who greatly admires Kerr and his work, I couldn’t have been happier to see that.

The author’s note concerns Kanazawa’s most famous writer, Izumi Kyoka (1873-1939), and the ways in which my novel interacts with the life he led in Kanazawa as a youth and also with some of the fictional works he set in the city. Not every reader will recognize the scenes of intertextuality that I’ve developed, but for those who do, hopefully they’ll experience a deeper reading of my work. The piece I wrote for WiK is only a draft, but it shows my intentions for this novel and explains how important Kyoka and the city of Kanazawa have become for me. It’s at the link below, for anyone who might be interested.

http://www.writersinkyoto.com/2019/08/on-izumi-kyoka-david-joiner/