Meredith McKinney is a translator of Japanese literature, both contemporary and classical. She lived in Japan for twenty years and is currently Honorary Associate Professor at the Australian National University in Canberra. Her translations for Penguin Classics include The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon, Essays in Idleness and Hojoki by Kenko and Chomei, and two novels by Natsume Soseki.
A delightful anthology that traces the evolution of travel writing in Japan through diaries, stories, drama and poetry ... In this remarkable work of translation and scholarship, filled with wonderful vignettes of Japanese life and sensibility, McKinney introduces readers to the nation's rich and unique literary tradition -- P.D James * The Guardian * A marvel of absorbing, elegant scholarship . . . Travels With A Writing Brush is a beehive of a book, buzzing with superb commentary and annotations, and bound to last generations. -- Barry Hill * Australian Book Review * A fascinating adventure ... Resonates as much with today as with yesteryear, and even for readers unfamiliar with Japan... A beautiful work * Japan Times * A fascinating compendium * RTE *