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Poems of the North

Author:
Translated by:
Publisher: , 2018
Link to online store *

From the publisher’s website:

Treasured in both Koreas, Baek Seok: Poems of the North opens an intriguing gateway into the spirit of the North Koreans of the 1930’s-50’s. In a land struggling for freedom and short of food, he treats his readers to the dishes they craved, exhibiting a Korea not in mired in the unpleasant realities of oppressive Japanese occupation, but in his imagination of its greatness.

Influenced by the visually intense landscape objects & narratives of the countryside, this poet observed for us the institutions & character of fading local customs, infusing them with the foods & flavors native to Korea, a deep & spiritual connection to the natural world, & shamanic superstition while tapping into the memories & ‘han’ of the people.

With a tone that is variously meditative, joyous, nostalgic, critical, romantic, reverent, ironic, tragic & even bitter, Baek Seok’s blend of litany, landscape & legend is full of nature’s color, palatal flavors & a tactile connection to those who people his poems.

Entry on Goodreads.com here.

* Where the book is available from a number of sources, they are prioritised as follows: (1) Amazon UK site, or Bookshop.org for the more recent uploads (2) Amazon US site (3) Other sites in US or Europe, including second-hand outlets (4) LTI Korea, where the title is advertised as available from there (5) Onlines stores in Korea. Links to Bookshop.org and Amazon UK site contain an affiliate code which, should you make a purchase, gives a small commission to LKL at no additional cost to you.