Makoto, Ryu

Drew McCord Stroud (Ryu Makoto) was born on September 3, 1944 in Arizona. Stroud received a BA from Harvard College in 1966 and a MA from University of Arizona in 1986. Stroud taught Spanish at the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University, British and American Literature at Wan Hua University in Taipei, and was associate professor of English, Spanish, Latin American, and Asian Studies at the Temple University branch campus in Tokyo.

During the early 1970's, Stroud was involved in the presentation of concerts in Harlem, New York, given by the Urban Philharmonic Society featuring Latin jazz artists. Stroud's early interest in jazz and blues traditions is evident in his documentation of Japanese blues singer, Mikami Kan.

Stroud's publications of poetry include: Lines Drawn Towards (1980); The Hospitality of Circumstance (1992); and Caught in the Act (2001). For the translation from Spanish to English of Poamorio (1984), written by Dario Canton, Stroud won a publication grant from the Wittner Bynner Foundation.

In addition to being a poet and professor, Stroud is founder and editor-in-chief of SARU "monkey" Press International with offices located in Yokohama, Japan, Seattle, Washington, and New York City. According to Stroud, SARU Press International has been "the principal English-language press publishing the work of expatriate poets living in Japan."