Hearn by Harris – Recitation contests and Volunteering

My time as a volunteer with the local library in Taisha came to an end in July 2009 after almost 4 years of service. My leaving coincided with a library event being held on Saturday, July 4th (a date that holds no special significance in Japan). I organized a one-hour seminar looking at the writings of Lafcadio Hearn, known in Japan as Koizumi Yakumo. more information about Lafcadio Hearn en.wikipedia.org A small audience of mostly friends and former students attended the event, where I recited 5 of Hearn’s speeches. I show excerpts from two of those performances in this video. Full text of “A Living God” www.inamuranohi.jp An interesting re-interpretation of the story for children, omitting the grandfather and making the young boy the central hero www.storiestogrowby.com The text of “Sayonara” (go to pages 691-693) tinyurl.com Coaching my Jr High students for the three speech contests my main Jr High attended each year was a highlight of my ALT schedule. Taisha Chu had great success every year, and more importantly the students that participated gained so much self-confidence in their ability to understand and use English. And I got to really know some fantastic kids. One such student is Hitoshi, featured in another video here on my channel, who competed in my very first speech contest and won a prize (3rd place out of about 40 students) reciting “A Living God.” I hope you enjoyed the stories. -Jason