Koshinokuni Museum of Literature
[Koshinokuni Museum of Literature] The announcement of the winner of the third YAKAMOCHI MEDAL
2023.07.07
In 2017, Toyama Prefecture established the YAKAMOCHI MEDAL to recognize the achievements of prominent poets around the world, in commemoration of the 1,300th anniversary of the birth of Otomo no Yakamochi. Yakamochi was a representative poet of the Manyoshu, the oldest anthology of Japanese poetry, and composed numerous excellent poems while he was working here as governor of Etchu (currently known as Toyama Prefecture). We are very happy to announce that this year’s award recipient has been decided through a screening by the selection committee.
1. The winner of the 3rd YAKAMOCHI MEDAL
Jean-Luc Steinmetz
Emeritus Professor at Nantes University, 82 years old, from France
Main publication: Et pendant ce temps-là... (Le Castor Astral, 2013).
(Profile)
Jean-Luc Steinmetz, Emeritus Professor at Nantes University, was born in Tours in 1940. He began writing poetry around the age of 15 and authored around fifteen books of poetry, including The Crossed Echo (L'Echo traversé, 1968), Free Fall into the Morning (Chute libre dans le matin, 1994), And in the Meantime Followed by Japan in October (Et pendant ce temps-là suivi de Japon d'octobre, 2013), and Toward the Apocalypse (Vers l'apocalypse, 2022). "Japan in October" is a very personal sketch of the deeply bruised Japan that he visited with his wife Kiyoko at the invitation the of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science in autumn 2011, seven months after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, but it is also an expression of the image of the Japan he has cultivated over the years.
In 2008, he was awarded the "Paul Verlaine Prize" by the Academie Française for The Exterior is Tiger-Spotted (Le Jeu tigré des apparences) and the "Grand Prize of Poetry" by the Society of Literary People (Société des gens de lettres) for the whole of his poetic work. He has published numerous essays and travelogues. Also known as a biographer of important poets, he received the "Académie Française Prize" in 1991 for his biography of Rimbaud titled Arthur Rimbaud, A Question of Presence (Japanese translation in 1999). He additionally received the "Pierre-Georges Castex Prize" from the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques in 1998 and the "Henri Mondor Prize" from the Académie Française for his biography of Mallarmé titled Stéphane Mallarmé, The Absolute Day by Day (Japanese translation in 2004). He has visited Japan several times and has given a series of lectures at major Japanese universities each time.
(Reasons for selection)
Jean-Luc Stemmetz is a representative of today’s French poetry world, with a large number of substantial poetry collections. He is married to a Japanese woman, drawing inspiration from his stay in Japan and Japanese aesthetics to create his own poetry. Additionally, his work is a crystal spun with simple and dense words and has been evaluated as suitable for this award.
(The total number of entries)
125 entries from 24 countries and regions
2. The award ceremony of the 3rd YAKAMOCHI MEDAL
Date: Sunday, July 16th, 2023 from 2:00 pm to 3:45 pm
Venue: ANA Crowne Plaza Toyama, IHG Hotel (2-3 Otemachi, Toyama, 930-0084)
※This award ceremony will be live-streamed on the YouTube channel below.
http://www.youtube.com/@user-kh4fg9kz8o
3. Contact Information
Koshinokuni Museum of Literature
E-mail: akoshinokuni@pref.toyama.lg.jp