«Provocative and inspiring, this is a new poetry essential»
Fiona Sampson, Guardian
A collection of meditations on poetry, art and life, taken from the creative writing lectures of one of South Korea’s most prominent living poets
'Kick against words like you would kick back on a swing. You’ve got to feel as if the soles of your feet are touching the sky.'
Logg inn for å se din bonus
A collection of meditations on poetry, art and life, taken from the creative writing lectures of one of South Korea’s most prominent living poets
'Kick against words like you would kick back on a swing. You’ve got to feel as if the soles of your feet are touching the sky.'
These 470 aphorisms, collected by his students, are evocative micropoems in their own right. Some express ideas at once familiar and breathtakingly new – truths we could sense but not put into words. Others unfurl fresh vistas and offer worlds to explore in their exciting and inspiring poetics.
Together, they offer an invigorating and original answer to the questions: How – and why – do we write at all? What does it mean to create? And how should we see the world?
Lee Seong-Bok (Author)
Lee Seong-bok, often referred to as a poet’s poet, was born in Sangju, Korea. He managed to enter the prestigious Gyeonggi High School in Seoul where he was inspired to write by his Korean teacher, the poet Kim Won-ho, as well as the work of poet Kim Soo-young. After graduating from Seoul National University with a degree in French, he worked at Keimyung University in Daegu for forty years, interrupted by a stint of living in Paris, where he studied the poststructuralists as well as the tenets of Seon Buddhism. He has written eight collections of poetry and numerous other books including academic and mainstream literary criticism, creative writing, and two books of essays on photography.
Anton Hur (Translator)
Anton Hur was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He is the translator of the runaway Korean bestseller, I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki, he won a PEN Translates award for Kang Kyeong-ae's The Underground Village, and his translation of Bora Chung's Cursed Bunny was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize. He lives in Seoul, South Korea.
«Provocative and inspiring, this is a new poetry essential»
Fiona Sampson, Guardian
«Lee's aphorisms endure, smouldering in the mind. They are evocative, surprising and thoroughly concerned with the endeavour of writing itself»
Jonathan Chan
«Iridescent and intransigently nuanced, these aphorisms collected by students show the worldly intelligence of an inspiring teacher and a highly accomplished poet. The wisdom encoded in this book challenges us to rethink our craft as writers and our preconceptions as readers. It’s a book I’ll keep returning to year after year»
Kit Fan
«A brilliant and beautiful book; new required reading for all of us as we continue on in our life-long study of poetry and the world»
Andrew McMillan
«As pragmatic as it is beautiful … Hur’s translation is limpid and witty»
Tablet *Books of the Year*
«Provocative … There’s a reason Lee’s students have been scribbling down his every word»
Jeremy Noel-Tod, Prospect