Like a Day of Feast, By Ko Un, (Changbi Publishers)
Five poets selected 240 works by renowned poet Ko Un, who has been writing poems for the last 55 years, for publication.
The newly published collection, titled “Like a Day of Feast,” is a joint project by poets Lee Si-young, Kim Seung-hee, Ahn Do-hyun, Park Seong-woo and Ko Hyeong-ryeol. Seoul National University professor emeritus Baek Nak-cheong also participated in the selection process.
The collection begins with “Tuberculosis,” which is the very first work Ko published in 1958. Among the selected works, 149 are from Ko’s 2002 collection “A Certain Wind.” Some 80 poems published before and after the year 2002 have been included in the latest collection. Ko’s long poems, including “Ten Thousand Lives,” have not been included.
“The collection chronicles the essence of Ko’s works in the past 55 years,” said Changbi, the book’s publisher.
“Poet Ko Un also said he’d consider this collection as a work that represents him.”
The 79-year-old poet’s works have been translated and published in more than 15 countries. He is regarded as one of the most prolific living Korean writers, his poetry ranging from the short lyric to the vast epic of the seven-volume “Paektusan.”
Last year, he published two new collections of poems, including “Sanghwa: Love of a Planet,” which he dedicated to his wife, professor Lee Sang-hwa at Chung-Ang University.
(dyc@heraldcorp.com)