Japan’s ‘beat poet’ Kazuko Shiraishi, pioneer of modern performance poetry, dies at 93

By YURI KAGEYAMA
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Kazuko Shiraishi, a leading name in modern Japanese “beat” poetry, has died. She was 93. Shiraishi was known for her dramatic readings, at times with jazz music. American poet and translator Kenneth Rexroth dubbed her “the Allen Ginsberg of Japan.” Shiraishi died of heart failure on June 14, according to Shichosha, a Tokyo publisher of her works. With her trademark long black hair and theatrical delivery, she defied the stereotypes of Japanese womanhood. She was a pioneer in performance poetry, reading her works with the music of jazz greats like Sam Rivers and Buster Williams, including a free-verse homage to the spirit of Coltrane.