J. Keith Vincent

J. Keith Vincent is an Associate Professor of Japanese & Comparative Literature and Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies at Boston University, and Convener of Japanese Language. He holds a BA from the University of Kansas, and MA and PhD from Columbia University. His research focuses on modern Japanese literature, queer theory, literary translation, and the interplay between haiku and the Japanese novel, particularly the work of Masaoka Shiki and Natsume Sōseki. Vincent’s scholarship bridges literary analysis with cultural critique, exploring themes of gender, sexuality, and aesthetics.

• Education:
  • BA, University of Kansas
  • MA, Columbia University
  • PhD, Columbia University

His research interests include queer readings of classical and modern texts, the impact of haiku on narrative forms, and literary friendships as aesthetic frameworks. Recent projects include a biography of Shiki through haiku and a book on haiku’s influence on Sōseki’s novels. Vincent has translated works by Okamoto Kanoko and Tanizaki Jun’ichirō, earning the 2011 U.S. Japan Friendship Commission Prize for his translation of A Riot of Goldfish. His translations often highlight cross-cultural resonances and subversive themes.

Awardees include the U.S. Japan Friendship Commission Prize (2011) and a Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize shortlist (2018). He actively contributes to academic discourse through edited volumes, such as Reading Sōseki Now, and lectures on topics like Shiki’s relationship with Marcel Proust.

Current projects focus on completing “I, Who Go”: The Young Shiki and the Invention of Haiku and expanding his exploration of haiku’s literary legacy. Vincent’s work emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches, blending literary criticism with psychoanalytic and cultural theories.