Nobel Laureate speaks about life and culture

There was standing-room only yesterday in 112 Kern when world famous novelist and 1994 Nobel Laureate Kenzaburo Oe came to lecture.

Born in 1935 in a rural island village, he won Japan's most prestigious literary honor, the Akutagawa Prize, with his novella The Catch. His later literary endeavors have been described as "magical realism," although his novels and stories also express his ongoing critique of Japanese society and politics.

Oe's international reputation began to grow after the translation of A Personal Matter, a tale about a father dealing with the birth of his mentally handicapped child. This book was clearly influenced by his own experiences with his own son, Hikaru. Some of Oe's other books translated into English include Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids, A Quiet Life, The Silent Cry and Hiroshima Notes.

Oe spoke of childhood memories, such as how he promised his mother that he would win a Nobel Prize for physics. After he became the 1994 Nobel Laureate he told his 90-year-old mother that he had fulfilled his promise.

"She said, 'You promised me a Nobel Prize in Physics. When will you get me that?'," Oe recalled.

Oe spent the majority of the lecture discussing how his cultural background affected his literary works.

"I think it was great how the Japanese history influenced his literature," Sang Baek (sophomore-business) said.

"I'm glad that people like this come here to speak," Tony D'Souza (sophomore-business) said. "It's a good opportunity to learn and broaden perspectives."