One of Japan's most distinguished contemporary authors discussed themes ranging from boredom to American pop culture in a speech to students and faculty yesterday afternoon.
More than 60 people filled the Wren Room of Sanborn Library to hear Haruki Murakami give a short speech and field questions from the audience.
The speech and question-and-answer session focused on Murakami's motivations for writing and the difficulties of translation and cross-cultural writing.
Murakami said his works center on everyday boredom. "So if you're leading a boring life you're on a good track to being a good writer," he said.
"The theme of my books is the sheer strangeness that goes with sheer boredom," Murakami said.
Murakami, who writes all his stories in Japanese, said he had faith in his translators' ability to accurately reproduce the tone of his books. "I don't work with them - I trust them and I leave it to them," he said.
He said American popular fiction strongly influenced his literary development.
"When I was a kid I read many detective stories. I loved them," Murakami said.
"My parents were teachers of Japanese literature so I hated Japanese literature," he said.
Murakami also discussed the modernization of the Japanese language. He said modern Japanese authors are becoming more expressive and are adding color to the language.
"The Japanese language should change, has to change. I think that's clear," Murakami said. "That's what contemporary writers are doing right now."
Murakami is currently a Distinguished Writer in Residence at Tufts University and lives in Cambridge, Mass.
The Asian Studies program and the Dartmouth Japan Society sponsored the event.
