Author: Park Ynhui
Translated by: Brother Anthony of Taizé
Publisher: Seoul Selection, 2014
Original title: 공백의 그림자
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From the publisher’s website:
Ynhui Park’s poems are not difficult; they are usually simple and suggestive, inviting the reader to share an experience of some moment, some scene, in which the underlying void seems to have yielded to value and meaning…. His poems very often re-enact a search for consolation and peace, faced with the meaninglessness and absurdity of human existence.
Many Korean poems are in some sense poems about being Korean… but his poems are fascinating for their open universality. His anguish is that of the modern world’s consciousness of the cosmic void; his hope cannot be formulated, and yet it remains a hope for the victory of humanity over blind cruelty. His poetry is neither dark nor despairing; instead it is often humorous, light, and fanciful.
About the Author
Born in 1930, Ynhui Park graduated from Seoul National University with a bachelor’s degree in French literature and received a PhD in philosophy from the Sorbonne in Paris. After spending 30 years as a professor in France, Germany, Japan, and the United States doing research and teaching the next generation of scholars, he returned to Korea and continued to teach at Pohang University and Yonsei University.
Renowned around the world for his philosophy and poetry, Park is highly regarded as an original Korean philosopher. He advocates three principles: intellectual transparency, emotional passion, and moral integrity. His writings, which draw upon his vast knowledge and wide experience, are adored by people of all ages. Park has published numerous books, including Roadmap to a Green Korea and The Journey Isn’t Over Yet.
About the Translator
Born in England, Brother Anthony of Taizé received his PhD from Oxford University, joining the Taizé Community, a monastic order, in 1969. Later, he came to Korea and worked at Sogang University as an English professor. He became a naturalized citizen of South Korea in 1994. He has published thirty books containing his English translations of Korean poetry and fiction, including work by Ko Un, Seo Jeong-ju, and Ku Sang. He was recognized for his literary efforts in 2008, when he received the Okkwan Literary Medal.