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English(English) Article

K-pop, K-movies, a Nobel prize … and now K-poetry: book of wise words adds to Korea’s cultural glory

About the Article

K-pop, K-movies, a Nobel prize … and now K-poetry: book of wise words adds to Korea’s cultural glory
Title another name
After Han Kang’s Nobel award and South Korean cinema hits, Penguin publishes new English edition of maxims by Lee Seong-bok in wake of US success
Article
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/oct/20/k-pop-k-movies-a-nobel-prize-k-poetry-book-wise-words-korea-cultural-lee-seong-bok
Journal
The Guardian
Issued Date
October 10, 2024
Page
2
Language
English(English)
Country
UNITED KINGDOM
City
-
Book
INDETERMINATE INFLORESCENCE
Writer
Lee Seong-Bok
Translator
Anton Hur

About the Author

Writer default image
  • LEE Seong-Bok
  • Birth : 1952 ~ -
  • Occupation : Poet
  • First Name : Seong-Bok
  • Family Name : Lee
  • Korean Name : 이성복
  • ISNI : 0000000078458717
  • Works : 11
Descriptions - 1 Languages
  • English(English)

A collection of wise maxims written by a 72-year old poet, calmly setting out illuminating advice to other poets, is the latest and perhaps most unlikely book to benefit from a surge in demand for South Korean literature. “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,” suggests Lee Seong-bok in his hit title Indeterminate Inflorescence. The work, which was printed in translation last year by a tiny specialist American press, unexpectedly sold out in bookstores, prompting four quick reprints, while the publisher spent his evenings sending out copies across the world. Now Penguin is to bring out the first big English edition under its Allen Lane imprint in November.

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