For Jane Joritz-Nakagawa, her sociopolitical outlook colors all aspects of her life, as a writer, educator or activist. "Activism runs through what I read and what I write and what I'm teaching; It's all one big thing, as the same mindset invades all those activities. It is inescapable," she says.
A strict vegan and advocate for women and animal rights, all of Joritz-Nakagawa's interests merged in the countryside of Japan, where for more than 20 years she has reached students and readers, united fellow writers and similarly minded activists.
From early on, teaching would balance her writing, as she realized that "a teacher is so other-directed. You are thinking about what the students need and how to best give it to them. But when you are writing, you are focused on your own intellectual needs, doing what interests you."