The Tokyo International Literary Festival got off to a good start. Both the inaugural 2013 event and the 2014 edition were successful, an auspicious beginning to forging cultural and artistic connections between Eastern and Western writers on a global stage. But since the festival’s forced hiatus in 2015 due to leadership changes, it has had to wade through a sea of troubles to stay afloat.
Resurfacing this year, the festival will run from March 2 to 6 at various venues around Tokyo. Headliners include an impressive lineup from both sides of the Pacific. The Festival sets off with an opening session featuring esteemed poet and scholar Elizabeth Alexander, two-time Pushcart Prize-winner Seth Fried, Chinese-American writer Yiyun Li and 2015 Akutagawa Prize-winner, Masatsugu Ono, discussing cultural and artistic connections in literature.
