Published: November 1, 2005

The Occidental Tourist

After traveling to Tokyo to help sell his educational memoir, the author set out for Hiroshima, where he learned, with the help of high schoolers, that war can teach you a lot about peace.

It happened so quickly. Last year, I Am a Pencil , my memoir about teaching creative writing to immigrant kids in New York City, was published. Within weeks, a publisher in Japan had purchased the rights, and six months later, the Japanese translation was nearly complete. The publisher had such high hopes for the book that he did something rare: He invited me to Tokyo, all expenses paid, to promote it. I accepted with pleasure but scratched my head: Why was Japan so excited about my book?

I got my first inkling in an e-mail that arrived several months before my trip:

Dear Mr. Swope: