Description: "Translation of an early book by Kim Hyesoon, a prominent South Korean poet who has received numerous prestigious literary awards. This singular poetry collection was created in the early 1980s and speaks of life under military dictatorship"-- Provided by publisher.
Review Quotes:
"Otherworldly imagery and anaphora create a kaleidoscope of eerie moments. Yet for all its images of death, the book glimmers with linguistic play and beautifully grotesque descriptions... Ok's skillful translation stands as a welcome addition to the growing list of Kim's memorable poetry available in English. This deserves a wide audience."--Publishers Weekly
"The Hell of That Star requires second reading--not just the poems individually, but the book as a whole. Kim's essay on the poet's ghostly voice and her editorial experience is crucial to a different appreciation of her work. The first impression might be upsetting, and the poems inexplicably grotesque, yet the bafflement crucially and effectively reflects the real confusion in the face of authoritarian violence. A second reading serves both as a relief and a revelation."--Jonathan Han, Asian Review of Books
"Cindy Juyoung Ok's new translation is at once precise and wild, a fruitful and ghostly conception of the poet and translator."--Iris Lee, Hopkins Review
"[Ok] stages an encounter between linguistic systems and the politics of attention. Kim's work has long challenged the boundaries of lyric expression. Ok meets that challenge with a poetics of responsible estrangement."--Issam Zineh, Asymptote
"[This] volume is a powerful addition to Hyesoon's work... these poems are existential terror deeply embodied."--Diana Arterian, co-translator of Afghan poet Nadia Anjuman in Hair on Fire, Center for the Art of Translation