Uguïsse Packard

author

Uguïsse Packard

This author has self-published four distinct works, three books in English and a translation of one of her own books into Japanese, writing under a pen name evoking the songbird known in English-sp...view moreThis author has self-published four distinct works, three books in English and a translation of one of her own books into Japanese, writing under a pen name evoking the songbird known in English-speaking countries as Japanese bush warbler and as uguisu in Japan. Although rarely seen, preferring the shade of foliage during the day, its song is heard in urban areas as well as in the Japanese countryside and it appears frequently in traditional Japanese literary works as a motif for spring, especially in poems.The author’s debut publication, Five Unlikely Tales, is inspired by many images and impressions from Japan. This collection of very short stories spanning genres including vignette, fairy tale, and short story, published in August of 2012, was followed by two more publications on September 25, 2012, one of which, Three Rhymes for Young Poets Age Five to Twelve, is a children’s illustrated book containing three poems and illustrations featuring collages created by the author. Published on the same day, A Pig, a Horse, and a Catfish is a fable, written and illustrated by the author. This story was published in Japanese on October 3, 2012 as a derivative work, translated by the author who has a degree in Comparative Culture from the International College at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan.Born in the U.S., she moved to Japan when still an infant and attended a Japanese parochial kindergarten for two years before entering a progressive private elementary school founded by the poet Hitomi Tomei, who admired Tolstoy, Tagore and Goethe and believed in educating women. Transferring to an international school at the age of ten, she received a bilingual education in English and Japanese, supplementing the American school curriculum with instruction at home in the Japanese language and classical literature with a private tutor. The author studied French in middle school and high school and later moved to France for a number of years and is certified to teach French as well as English and ESL at the secondary level. Three Rhymes for Young Poets Age Five to Twelve was written initially with ESL learners in mind, while A Pig, a Horse, and a Catfish was written to stimulate philosophically oriented discussions among students in seventh grade and above.Interested in languages, language acquisition, and language learning, the author’s main concern with literature is the aesthetics of writing, namely, the effects of rhythm, sound, and images projected in the mind. The author’s aesthetic sense is informed by a wide range of readings from the classical works of Japanese, English, and French literature. The combination of the influences of a marked diversity within the international community of Tokyo, where she was raised, and the exposures to traditional arts of Japan through extra-curricular pursuits taking lessons in flower arrangement, tea ceremony, wheel-thrown pottery, ink brush painting, calligraphy, and sketching Buddhist sculptures, has shaped the author’s aesthetic sense and world view to integrate a wide range of points of view.Her current project is to bring out a bilingual edition of A Pig, a Horse, and a Catfish in paperback. The author has compiled a glossary that can facilitate the reading of this work by readers learning Japanese. http://tangorin.com/vocabulary?list=13448view less