CONSTANT CHANGE, CHANGELESS CONSTANCY: Japan in the Summer of its Olympics

           CONSTANT CHANGE, CHANGELESS CONSTANCY: Japan in the Summer of its Olympics

Internationally renowned author, journalist, and TED talk favorite Pico Iyer in conversation with President Emeritus of JSB Peter Grilli

Born in England and traveled across the globe, Pico Iyer has spent much of his time since 1992 in a small town in Nara, Japan and at a Benedictine hermitage in Big Sur, California.

In his new books, Autumn Light and A Beginner’s Guide to Japan: Observations and Provocations, Pico Iyer reflects on the changes as well as the changelessness and the paradoxes of his adopted home.  

Join us as we catch Pico Iyer in conversation with his friend, Peter Grilli, as they reflect on their Japanese journeys and how it has influenced the way they think, write, speak and live their lives.  

About the Speakers:

Pico Iyer is the author of 15 books, translated into 23 languages, and has been a constant contributor to Time, The New York Times, Harper's and many other periodicals for more than thirty years. His 1991 book, The Lady and the Monk, about his first year in Japan was followed by twinned books in 2019, Autumn Light and A Beginner's Guide to Japan, about his next thirty years around Kyoto and Nara. His four TED Talks have received more than 11 million views so far.

Peter Grilli first encountered Japan in 1947 at the age of five, and has lived there off and on for nearly half his life as a student, observer, writer, filmmaker, administrator and participant in Japan-U.S. cultural interactions.  He was President of the Japan Society of Boston from 2000 to 2014.

This program is made possible by the support of Toshiba International Foundation.

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