Japanese author Haruki Murakami announced Sunday that he is working to set up a library that will showcase his works and also serve as a meeting place for research and international exchanges. The library would archive his books, various stages of drafts of his novels, materials he used to write…
Japanese author Haruki Murakami announced Sunday that he is working to set up a library that will showcase his works and also serve as a meeting place for research and international exchanges.
The library would archive his books, various stages of drafts of his novels, materials he used to write his books, and his translation work, as well as his massive collection of music, which plays a key role in his stories, he said.
The library is planned at Waseda University, his alma mater in Tokyo.
“I’m more than happy if those materials can contribute any way for those who want to study my works,” the 69-year-old Murakami said at a joint news conference with school officials at Waseda. “I hope it would be a place for cultural exchanges with positive and open atmosphere.”
Media-shy Murakami said it was his first formal news conference at home in 37 years. Though he interacted with fans on several occasions this year, including hosting his radio programs twice and appearing before fans at a book event in New York, Murakami on Sunday agreed to pose only for still cameras.
A perennial contender for the Nobel literature prize, Murakami began writing while running a jazz bar in Tokyo before graduating from Waseda in 1975.
