This poem is autobiographical. Springerle were good cookies to send to American troops in Germany during the Second World War because they had no butter. Only three ingredients; eggs, butter, and flour. I have my own mold, now, and bake them every December.
The poem is published in Hawaii Pacific Review: https://hawaiipacificreview.org/2019/04/29/springerle/?fbclid=IwAR1Ruv_vANQiSA4KYGif8pBqJpkoRtZ_8ihcEGNcj-Se5pYbl19Ycn-bIPM
About American Fuji
- Sara Backer
- Most Americans who move to Japan are already in love with their idea of Japan. My feelings were neutral. I had a fresh graduate degree and jobs for English majors were scarce. I was lucky to get a prestigious Visiting Professorship at a national Japanese university and I was up for adventure. I didn't know I would be the first woman and the first American to hold that job. I was in for more groundbreaking than I imagined, but while Japan's invisible expectations were stressful, my students made my job the most fulfilling one I've had. I wanted to show aspects of Japan I hadn't found in books written by men (who experience an entirely different culture), but I didn't want to add to the cliche genre of personal memoir about gaijin in Asia. Fiction was the way I could show the humor and charm of a country that seems crazy and frustrating to a Western ex-pat. This blog explains how my actual experience informed my novel.
No comments:
Post a Comment