Born in 1947, Mieko Kanai is a novelist, poet, short-story writer, essayist, and critic. Her novel Mild Vertigo was called “mesmerizing” (The New York Times), “monumental” (Japan Times), and “urgent” (The Atlantic) Polly Barton is a writer and literary translator from the Japanese. Her translations include Butter by Asako Yuzuki and Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa. She has published two works of non-fiction, Fifty Sounds and Porn: An Oral History; What Am I, A Deer? is her debut novel.

"Mieko Kanai’s writing represents one of the high points of Japanese literature."

Born in 1947, Mieko Kanai is a novelist, poet, short-story writer, essayist, and critic. Her novel Mild Vertigo was called “mesmerizing” (The New York Times), “monumental” (Japan Times), and “urgent” (The Atlantic) Polly Barton is a writer and literary translator from the Japanese. Her translations include Butter by Asako Yuzuki and Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa. She has published two works of non-fiction, Fifty Sounds and Porn: An Oral History; What Am I, A Deer? is her debut novel.

"Mieko Kanai’s writing represents one of the high points of Japanese literature."

Born in 1947, Mieko Kanai is a novelist, poet, short-story writer, essayist, and critic. Her novel Mild Vertigo was called “mesmerizing” (The New York Times), “monumental” (Japan Times), and “urgent” (The Atlantic) Polly Barton is a writer and literary translator from the Japanese. Her translations include Butter by Asako Yuzuki and Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa. She has published two works of non-fiction, Fifty Sounds and Porn: An Oral History; What Am I, A Deer? is her debut novel.

"Mieko Kanai’s writing represents one of the high points of Japanese literature."