Girl in a Box

In early twentieth century Japan, women have few rights. Yet one precocious poet-a brooding daughter, locked in her room at night by protective parents-runs away from home to live a life of her choosing.

She falls in love with a fellow poet and follows him across Siberia to Paris, where they witness the last days of the Belle poque. She perseveres through poverty, back-to-back pregnancies, infidelity, earthquake, and fire, to become a name every Japanese schoolchild knows today as a pioneering feminist poet and the first person to translate the classical Tale of Genji into modern Japanese.

In her single-minded dedication to her art, she inflicts wounds on a daughter that echo from her own childhood. She sets out to make amends, knowing it may be too late. Based on the life of poet Yosano Akiko (1878-1942) and filled with original translations of her poetry and writing, A Poet’s Blood will feel familiar to anyone who has juggled career, family, and personal freedom.

Author Biography

A former CIA officer and Silicon Valley geopolitical analyst, Jean Gordon Kocienda is now focused on writing and volunteering with refugee families in the Bay Area. Jean holds a B.A. in English Literature (Colgate University) and M.A. in International Affairs (George Washington University). Currently nestled in the redwoods of Marin County with her husband and cats, she has lived in Japan and speaks Japanese. She is Vice President of the California Writers Club Marin Chapter.