The Depths of a Clam : Selected Poems of Kim Kwang-Kyu

by Brother Anthony of Taizé (Translator), Kim Young-Moo (Translator), Kim Kwang-Kyu

Kim Kwang-kyu was born in Seoul in 1941 and is a professor in the German language and literature department at Hanyang University. He has written poetry sharply critical of the abuses of human dignity caused by corrupt politics and the structural contradictions brought about by the industrialization of society. Brother Anthony teaches English literature at Sogang University in Seoul. He is the translator of several books of Korean poetry.

Genres: Poetry, Literature

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2005

About the author

Brother Anthony is a translator, scholar, and member of the Taizé Community who has become a naturalized Korean citizen, and lives in Seoul.

AKA An Seonjae

Reviews

[Hilly]

Came across a signed copy in green Apple Books in sf somehow

[Peter]

Think of all the people you know who read poetry on a regular basis. Now cut that number in half (to be generous) and you can begin to imagine the American audience for poetry in translation. And that’s a damn shame. This first American edition of work by major contemporary Korean poet Kim Kwang-Kyu not only delivers readers to themselves, but illuminates thought patterns and points of view from another culture. Anyone out there still think we can get by without understanding other cultures? For the past thirty years, Kwang-Kyu has revealed truths about Korean society that few poets, anywhere, would be bold and skilled enough to speak about. In The Depths of a Clam he maintains both hope and good humor while plumbing the depths of an over-industrialized society driven by politically corrupt forces. Anyone out there unable to relate? The hope and humor remain because Kwang-Kyu writes from an Everyman perspective; never hovering over the fray, but writing from the depths of his understanding of how the politics of Korea affect the people of Korea. Or is it the people of America?