Steve Kemme

Step into the extraordinary life of the man who made an impact as an observer wherever he lived, and went on to become the leading western interpreter of Japan and Japanese culture--a position he still occupies today. Born in Greece and abandoned as a child, Lafcadio Hearn lived the life of an exile. He travelled the world and became a famous writer but always felt like an outsider--in Dublin, London, Cincinnati, New Orleans, and French-speaking Martinique. To him, none of these places felt like home. Hearn's life in America was punctuated by a string of successes and failures. In Cincinnati he became the city's best-known crime reporter but was fired after marrying a black woman. Devastated, he moved to New Orleans, where he championed French Creole and Caribbean culture and created the city's image as a place of voodoo and debauchery (the image which many Americans still hold today). Hearn arrived in Japan at a time of historic change. Sent there as a correspondent, he soon found himself alone and jobless. He settled in the remote town of Matsue, firmly believing that Japan would provide him with an endless supply of rich writing material--perhaps enough to last a lifetime. Over the next dozen years, Hearn published 15 books which were lauded by the likes of Mark Twain, William Butler Yeats, Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin. Hearn's books made him famous as the leading writer on Japan and Japanese culture. Discover the fascinating journey of Hearn's life and the series of events--from peaks to pitfalls--that shaped his remarkable story, including: His troubled childhood and emigration to America with no job or money His career as a popular newspaper writer and essayist in Cincinnati and New Orleans His life in Japan where he became a Buddhist, married the daughter of a Samurai and took the Japanese name Yakumo Koizumi Hearn's worldwide fame as a writer, especially for his works on ghosts, demons, monsters and the supernatural world of Japanese folklore Author Steve Kemme is president of the Lafcadio Hearn Society/USA and a leading expert on Hearn's life and writings. This book includes a foreword by Bon Koizumi, Hearn's great-grandson and director of the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum in Matsue, Japan, along with 30 images which portray the pivotal people and places in Hearn's amazing life.

Step into the extraordinary life of the man who made an impact as an observer wherever he lived, and went on to become the leading western interpreter of Japan and Japanese culture—a position he still occupies today. Born in Greece and abandoned as a child, Lafcadio Hearn lived the life of an exile. He travelled the world and became a famous writer but always felt like an outsider—in Dublin, London, Cincinnati, New Orleans, and French-speaking Martinique. To him, none of these places felt like home. Hearn's life in America was punctuated by a string of successes and failures. In Cincinnati he became the city's best-known crime reporter but was fired after marrying a black woman. Devastated, he moved to New Orleans, where he championed French Creole and Caribbean culture and created the city's image as a place of voodoo and debauchery (the image which many Americans still hold today). Hearn arrived in Japan at a time of historic change. Sent there as a correspondent, he soon found himself alone and jobless. He settled in the remote town of Matsue, firmly believing that Japan would provide him with an endless supply of rich writing material—perhaps enough to last a lifetime. Over the next dozen years, Hearn published 15 books which were lauded by the likes of Mark Twain, William Butler Yeats, Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin. Hearn's books made him famous as the leading writer on Japan and Japanese culture. Discover the fascinating journey of Hearn's life and the series of events—from peaks to pitfalls—that shaped his remarkable story, including:His troubled childhood and emigration to America with no job or moneyHis career as a popular newspaper writer and essayist in Cincinnati and New OrleansHis life in Japan where he became a Buddhist, married the daughter of a Samurai and took the Japanese name Yakumo KoizumiHearn's worldwide fame as a writer, especially for his works on ghosts, demons, monsters and the supernatural world of Japanese folkloreAuthor Steve Kemme is president of the Lafcadio Hearn Society/USA and a leading expert on Hearn's life and writings. This book includes a foreword by Bon Koizumi, Hearn's great-grandson and director of the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum in Matsue, Japan, along with 30 images which portray the pivotal people and places in Hearn's amazing life.

"Hearn's writing was not only true on the surface but in depth; not only to his conscious thinking but also to the submerged feelings that gave their rhythms to his prose.…and he later proved that he knew which tales to choose and which details to emphasize, in exactly the right English." — Malcolm CowleyLafcadio Hearn is the most significant early interpreter of Japan and Japanese culture for the West—a man who traveled to Japan when he was thirty-nine, and never left. Lafcadio Hearn's Japan presents Hearn's most famous stories and essays about his adopted land—recounting his love for its striking natural beauty and the rich character and customs of its people. The 18 fascinating essays in this book include:"In a Japanese Garden" Hearn's classic description of the meditative calm and serenity he experienced when visiting a traditional Zen garden just outside his back door"Strangeness and Charm" Expressing his deep love for the richness and beauty of traditional Japanese culture "In the Cave of the Children's Ghosts" An account of a journey to an isolated sea cave where the souls of dead children are said to congregateLafcadio Hearn's Japan provides an unforgettable look at traditional Japan through the eyes of a sensitive and eloquent foreigner. This new edition features a foreword by Steve Kemme, a leading expert on Hearn and president of the Lafcadio Hearn Society (USA). It also includes 21 color photos showcasing the people and places which Hearn so lovingly describes.