Naoshi Koriyama

Naoshi Koriyama
Native name	郡山 直
Born	1926 (age 97–98) Kikai Island, Kagoshima Prefecture
Occupation	Poet
Language	Japanese, English, and Kikai
Nationality	Japanese
Education	University of New Mexico
Alma mater	University at Albany, SUNY

Naoshi Koriyama (郡山 直, Kōriyama Naoshi, born in 1926) is a Japanese poet and author. Born in Kikai Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, he first attended the University of New Mexico. He graduated from the New York State College for Teachers at Albany in 1954 and returned to Japan to teach and write poetry. His interest in poetry came from using it as a tool to combat his feelings of loneliness when he transferred from New Mexico to Albany in 1951. From 1967 until 1997, he was a professor at Toyo University and holds the title of professor emeritus. He has published nine collections in English, three from Japanese to English, and in 2011, he published his first volume entirely in Japanese. He speaks Japanese, English, and his native Kikai.

References

• Koriyama, Naoshi, with Tim Newfields. (2008). Bard-o-voice: Some Words with Naoshi Koriyama. Retrieved from http://www.tnewfields.info/LitaRupture/koriyama.htm
• McKeown, Julie. (n.d.) Naoshi Koriyama (extra). Retrieved from http://julikay.tripod.com/juliespoetry/id46.html