Lucille M. Nixon (December 24, 1908 – December 22, 1963) [1] was a poet and school supervisor from Palo Alto, California. In 1957 she became the first foreigner selected to participate in Utakai Hajime, the Imperial New Year's Poetry Reading of Japan. [2] Nixon performed a 31 syllable waka about the Hōryū-ji, a Buddhist temple she had visited on a trip two years earlier. After her reading, she won the praises of Emperor Hirohito, who encouraged her to continue writing Japanese poetry so she could become a "bridge" between Japan and the United States. [3]
She authored a number of books. Among them are:
Nixon died in 1963. An elementary school in Palo Alto currently bears her name. [4]
Lucille M. Nixon (December 24, 1908 – December 22, 1963) [1] was a poet and school supervisor from Palo Alto, California. In 1957 she became the first foreigner selected to participate in Utakai Hajime, the Imperial New Year's Poetry Reading of Japan. [2] Nixon performed a 31 syllable waka about the Hōryū-ji, a Buddhist temple she had visited on a trip two years earlier. After her reading, she won the praises of Emperor Hirohito, who encouraged her to continue writing Japanese poetry so she could become a "bridge" between Japan and the United States. [3]
She authored a number of books. Among them are:
Nixon died in 1963. An elementary school in Palo Alto currently bears her name. [4]