Haruki Murakami at The Auckland Writers Festival
A quiet hum settles around the full-to-capacity ASB theatre that, for this event sold out in three days. John Freeman recites the history of Haruki Murakami who has published best sellers both in Japan and Internationally. He is known as a contemporary Japanese author who attracts critical attention from the Japanese literary establishment for his un-Japanese fiction. Thunderous applause erupts as Haruki walks onto the stage wearing a green ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ t-shirt under his dinner jacket. Small and athletic, he looks much younger than his 69 years. When asked questions, Haruki often replies in a slow deliberate manner. ‘ I wanted to write,’ pause, ‘ I was afraid I cannot write,’ and the audience waits, ‘so I caught the fear in my palms. I started to write.’ Haruki wrote a 200-page novel titled Hear The Wind Sing, and entered it in a literary competition. It won and so began his writing career. Haruki describes how he wakes at 4am, makes a coffee, plays quiet jazz music and sits down to write. ‘When …