Schoolgirl

Osamu Dazai (1909--1948) is one of the most highly respected author's of modern Japan and is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in post-war Japanese literature. He was widely known by contemporaries for his eclectic lifestyle, inventive use of language, and his multiple suicide attempts, which led to his final, successful attempt in 1948. His two major novels, No Longer Human and The Setting Sun, continue to be widely read and leave a vibrant legacy for one of Japan's greatest writers.

Allison Markin Powell is a literary translator, editor, and publishing consultant. She received the 2020 PEN America Translation Prize for The Ten Loves of Nishino by Hiromi Kawakami. Her other translations and co-translations include works by Osamu Dazai, Kanako Nishi, and Ryunosuke Akutagawa. As co-organizer and co-host of the Translating the Future conference, she helped to draft the Manifesto on Literary Translation. She is a founding member of the translator collectives Cedilla & Co. and Strong Women, Soft Power, and maintains the database Japanese Literature in English.