An explosive collection of revolutionary poems that make the case that only poetry can save humanity. Korean poet Pak Jeong-de envisioned Hail, Che! as a textual performance that sings and dreams of revolution. In these poems, he invokes the names of more than 200 artists— writers, musicians, filmmakers, and painters—whom he considers comrades capable of saving humanity. … [Read More]
Booklist: Poetry in Translation
A listing of Korean poems in English translation. Titles are sorted in date of publication in English translation, most recent first. An alphabetical listing by author can be found here.
Flatfish: Poems [forthcoming]
In his poetry collection, Flatfish, Moon Tae-jun offers an aesthetic that emphasizes the author’s exploration of the inner self. At times sparse and allusive, his poems use blank space and other stylistic considerations to convey a voice and thought that ranges from the contemplative to the surreal and absurd. Moon’s poems suggest Buddhist ideologies, natural images, … [Read More]
A Time When I So Loved Someone [forthcoming]
A large body of the poems in Lee Byung Ryul’s book is comprised of accounts of his own tangible life story, or his observation of other’s experience. He writes about things of deep concern to him–the love relationship between him and his beloved, trips abroad, friendship and enmity, a natural object like a persimmon, or … [Read More]
Like a Fruit Tearing Its Way Out of a Flower
Like A Fruit Tearing Its Way Out of a Flower by Jang Okgwan is a collection of poems selected by the poet from his almost 40-year, award winning career. With the lightness and wit of a comedian, Jang’s meditations on aging brilliantly capture the conflict between the unflinching power of the human mind against the unavoidable … [Read More]
I Am Not Korean
Song Kyeong-dong is a social activist and a poet. He is surely the only Korean poet capable of writing a poem denying that he is Korean, being filled with shame on reading of the way Korean companies, having relocated their factories to Southeast Asia to profit from cheap labor, systematically exploit and abuse their underpaid workers, … [Read More]
Selected Works of Yi Ok
Selected Works of Yi Ok is a translation of Yi’s most important works, including Plain Verses, Short Odes of Kyǒnggŭm, and five short stories, including The Life of Student Sim, The Life of Lee Hong, The Life of Chang Boksŏn, The Life of Yu Kwangŏk, and The Life of Singer Song Silsol. Yi was a literary rebel in the Chosǒn society as Williams Wordsworth … [Read More]
Dawn of Labor
Dawn of Labor, at last translated into English, is the legendary South Korean poet Park Nohae’s first collection, published in 1984 when he was twenty-seven years old. Despite a government ban, the book sold a million copies and propelled Park Nohae as the generation’s leading resistance poet. Dawn of Labor is an enduring classic that shook a … [Read More]
I’ll write again tomorrow
May my poetry not lean on plausible deniability, may it not mask or embellish the present me with the past me that has already passed. I hope the things I get angry about don’t harden into conventions, and I hope the things I love are written down waiting to be deepened. From“ Poet’s Essay” He … [Read More]
Love Songs Sung with the Body
I want to love, I want to hug, I want to be together, I want to be together and look at the same place, but it doesn’t work out. It seems to work but it doesn’t, it seems to work but it doesn’t work. It’s not just an erotic relationship. The appearance of thirst among … [Read More]
Parting After Parting (K- Poet 34)
Poet Jang Seok-won’s “Farewell After Farewell” in K-Poet Series, Songs that Begin with Revolution and Love Once Again Poet Jang Seok-won’s sixth collection of poems, 『Farewell After Farewell』, a poet who loves music and poetry, has been published in the 34th volume of the K-Poet Series. In 2002, the poet joined the Korea Daily (now … [Read More]
Rock Is Thunder (K-Poet 35)
Poet Lee Jae-hoon’s “Stones Are Thunder” Lending Tears to the Silent Poet Lee Jae-hoon’s fifth collection of poems, “Stones Are Thunder,” will be published as the 35th volume of the K-Poet series. Poet Lee Jae-hoon began his career in 1998 with Contemporary Poetry and has published poetry collections such as My First Report on the … [Read More]
Indeterminate Inflorescence
“Poetry is the restoration of the whole through details. Think of it as making a sketch of a face only briefly seen. Just as one puts together a shattered skull or an earthenware pot, poetry is the creation of the pieces that go in the spots where the original pieces are missing.” Indeterminate Inflorescence is a … [Read More]
Ancient, Medieval, and Premodern Korean Songs and Poems: An Historical Anthology, With Parallel Texts in Korean and English
This historical anthology of Korean poetry, Ancient, Medieval, and Premodern Korean Songs and Poems highlights the evolution of poetic composition in the vernacular. The book is a manifesto of the uniquely Korean poetic tradition, which flourished quite separately along with the literary tradition retained by the men of letters devoted to the scholarship in classical Chinese. The … [Read More]
Love and the Beginning (K-Poet 33)
Kwon’s third collection of poems, Love and Beginning, has been published in 33 volumes in the K-Poet series. Poet Kwon Park received a lot of attention when he won the Kim Sooyoung Literary Award for 『It’s My Turn to Understand』 and expanded the world of his own work through his second collection of poems, 『Is … [Read More]
Am I Not Your Sin (K-Poet 31)
As the 31st volume of the K-Poet series, poet Choi Ji-in’s 『Isn’t Your Sin Me?』 was published. This is her third collection of poems after “I Slept Against the Wall” and “Work, Work, Love.” If his previous collection of poems specifically portrayed the voices of the young generation living in the 21st century, in this … [Read More]
Poverty Must Persist (K-Poet 32)
As the 32nd volume of the K-Poet series, Kim Sai’s 『Poverty Must Be Maintained』 was published. This is her third collection of poems after “The Day I Quit Reflecting” and “I Say I’m Not Doing Anything.” As a poet who desperately portrayed the absurdity of the workplace and the reality of female workers suffering doubly … [Read More]