SWET Spotlight
SWET’s far-flung community pulses with activity. Members are carving a niche, polishing skills, sharing expertise, and building toward aspirations. What are they doing? Why do they do it? What do they think about it? What can we learn from them? SWET interviews members with an achievement to celebrate, a significant occasion to mark, or something special to share. Let us know what you are doing. To arrange an interview, Contact Us. The SWET Blogroll features personal blogs of members in the Member Spotlight page sidebar.
May 21, 2019
Howard Hibbett: Scholar, Translator, Editor
By Joel Cohn
Howard Hibbett's name was not familiar to the general public, but among Anglophone scholars and students of Japanese literature it was very much one to be reckoned with. His contributions touched us in a variety of ways; many of them extended our understanding of Japanese culture in new directions, and virtually all of his work—be it as a... more
February 6, 2019
Jared Lubarsky: What Puts the Spring in My Step
Author of the recently published Counter-Kabuki: Sixty-Seven Playlets on the Silly Side of Life in Japan, Jared Lubarsky has been a full-time resident of Barcelona, Spain, since 2005. He was raised in Massachusetts and did his undergraduate and graduate studies in Pennsylvania, where he also had his first teaching job, at Haverford College. He arrived in Tokyo in 1976 to... more
March 5, 2018
Simon Rowe: An Independent Author’s Journey
Simon Rowe is an independent writer who currently resides in the city of Himeji, situated in western Honshu and known for its splendidly preserved Edo-period castle. After 20 years of roving the world as a travel writer, he has turned to penning short fiction and screenplays. He has recently self-published a collection of short stories, Good Night Papa:... more
November 30, 2017
Michihiro Hirai’s Technical and Business English Expertise Marathon
Long-time SWET member Michihiro Hirai works with publishers and language-related organizations as a translator, writer, teacher of technical and business English, and consultant. He is also a collector of English-language qualifications: he recently let us know that he had passed his goal of earning 50 of them and is eager for more. Taking this opportunity to celebrate... more
July 4, 2016
Hugh Ashton: Technical Writer and Man of Mystery
A core member of SWET for more than two decades and resident of Japan for 28 years, Hugh Ashton recently announced his decision to move back to England, whence he came in 1988. As a speaker and leader of workshops, writer of articles, and behind-the-scenes technician and wordsmith, Ashton played an important role in SWET’s early initiation into advanced information... more
April 3, 2016
Interview: Suzanne Kamata
On Writing, and Promoting, Diverse BooksSuzanne Kamata has become a respected author for teens and adults, probing issues of physical ableness and cultural identity. An experienced anthologist, she has also edited short fiction about Japan, as well as nonfiction about multicultural motherhood and raising children with special needs. She lives in a farming community in Shikoku. In this interview for... more
SWET Member Blogroll
Victoria Ferauge - The Franco-American Flophouse
Blog on Victoria’s expat life in Japan and France
Suzanne Kamata - Gaijin Mama
Lively posts on writing and publishing, mothering, the literary life, and getting an MFA
Holly Thompson - Holly Thompson's blog on writing, teaching, living and learning
Blog done in creative visual fashion
Greg Goodmacher - Onsen (Hot Spring) Addict in Japan
Personal blog about onsen in Japan
Paul Cipywnyk - Paul Cipywnyk's Blog
Photography blog from Vancouver, Canada
