After delighting in the English translation of Midaregami, I wanted to learn even more about Akiko-san’s life and poetry. Embracing the Firebird was a natural next choice, and, turns out, a good one. 

Embracing the Firebird is part biography and part bibliography of the first third of poet Akiko-san’s life, from birth to her publication of Midaregami. Beichman’s intended audience seems to be academics and students, but her accessible, dynamic prose and truly beautiful translation work make this book a really awesome resource for anyone interested in Akiko-san. I honestly wish I’d read this first before Midaregami’s other English translation. Beichman’s accounting is comprehensive, engaging, and sometimes funny. Shucking off her shroud, Akiko-san changed from an obscured figure to a stubborn, horny spitfire poet with a sharp tongue and sharper mind to match. In my other deep dives on early twentieth century Japanese writers, I’ve been frustrated how researchers study the writer in isolation. Like, they think artists are lonely creatures, uninfluenced by their family, friends, and communities. Beichman happily and doggedly researches Akiko-san’s family, teachers, and literary colleagues. Especially fascinating was how Beichman contrasted the poetry’s initial critical reception to today’s modern thought about Akiko-san’s work. 

A marvelous chunk of the book dedicates itself to translation and poetic analysis of Midaregami’s tanka. Overall, I loved and agreed with Biechman’s analysis. She tracked Akiko-san’s influences from plays, movies, books, trips, museum exhibits, and popular culture, which added color and texture to the biographical context. A couple thesis statements I disagreed with, and, surprise, surprise, they regarded queer subtext. As I explained in my review of A Girl with Tangled Hair (the English translation of Midaregami), Akiko-san is an important figure in queer Japanese history, but a controversial one. Despite an intense relationship with fellow poetess Yamakawa Tomiko-san, Akiko-san never publicly identified as queer. Yet queer readers–especially sapphic and polyamorous readers–find a mirror in her poems. It’s a thorny topic. For a few tanka, it seemed like Biechman bent over backwards to explain around the more obvious queer reading. For example, one explanation involved Akiko-san maybe seeing this one painting, in this one specific exhibit, and slightly misinterpreting it in a very peculiar manner. To me, the poem was about how fun it is to eat a lady out.

Embracing the Firebird covers the entire tapestry of Akiko-san’s young life. I read it to learn, for the sake of learning. By the end, my brain was alight, hungry for more facts about Akiko-san and her poetry. I hope Biechman goes on to write the next two books on Akiko’s middle and later life. Someone get this academic some funding STAT!

My review of the English translation, A Girl with Tangled Hair: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/8398a227-0d3a-47ed-925c-ff068424e3c5