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I'm a journalist and would-be creative writer, born in Canada and living in the UK. I lived in Japan in the 1980s and 1990s, on and off, where I was challenged relentlessly and learned endlessly. Later in life, I co-founded The Lupine Review literary magazine in Whistler, Canada, was shortlisted by Event magazine in my competitive creative-writing foray and held a senior role at The Guardian newspaper for nearly a decade. I was delighted to be awarded WiK's member prize in the 2024 writing competition for a piece called On Repeat. I earned my MA Japanese Studies from SOAS, University of London, and am now undertaking a PhD on a Japan-related cinema subject. Thanks for stopping by! Please do say hello.
Tokyo Story (1953) came to fame in 1958, when Yasujiro Ozu’s postwar film about a fragmenting family won the Sutherland prize at the London Film Festival – or so cinematic scholarship suggests. There is, however, a much more complex tale to be told. In fact, director Ozu’s shomingeki-genre film was being discussed and promoted internationally long before what is considered that watershed moment.
I draw on archives, interviews, and scholarly works to map out original theories about why Tokyo Story won the Sutherland prize.
The Lupine Review literary and arts magazine showcases emerging talent with a connection to the Sea-to-Sky corridor of British Columbia, Canada. I co-founded the publication and publish it with a partner on a volunteer basis. The magazine is supported by the Whistler Writers Festival. Any proceeds from sales are used to support local literary enrichment.
I dabble in travel writing when I find some time. You can see a couple of pieces here, including a video at the end of one article where I throw an axe. Cheers!
The blogs I wrote as editor-in-chief of The Guardian Weekly are probably still online! You may find my byline attached to some writing at financial website MarketWatch and possibly even some work when I was a cub reporter at The Ottawa Citizen newspaper (pre-internet, but you never know).
It always seems impossible until it's done -- Nelson Mandela