NYPL-뉴욕도서관추천시집-22년4월,시의달

Translated Korean & Spanish Poetry in the General Research Collection

By Nikki Lopez and Elizabeth Rutigliano

April 7, 2022

The New York Public Library’s World Literature Festival celebrates books and writers from around the world and reflects the languages spoken in our communities. Discover free author talks, resources, book recommendations, and more for all ages in world languages.
This April, we also celebrate National Poetry Month, and librarians in the General Research Division have compiled a list of Korean and Spanish language poetry collections translated into English that can be found at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. 
Translated poetry in itself is an art form. The essence of a poem needs to be maintained in any translation of it. The translation must create a harmonized and mutual partnership with the original text while creating a compatible gateway to engage with new audiences. The art of translated poetry comes from being able to balance both the poet’s message without losing it in translation and being able to engage new readers.
All NYPL cardholders can read the items mentioned below and other dual-translated poetry publications in the Rose Main Reading Room. Request these titles in person or online via the Advance Research Request Form. 

Korean Poetry Collection

Love Is the Pain of Feverish Flowers | 사랑 은 꽃 몸살

by Kwon Cheonhak, translated by Kim Hana
Kwon Cheonhak's poetry collection delves into the depths of love and life and how one poet's hunger for poetry endures throughout her life. This poetry collection also includes painting interpretations by artist Lee Cheong-cho. Writers International Network Canada awarded the Distinguished Poet Award to Kwon in 2015. Kwon is currently involved with PEN International, the Society of Korean Poets, and the World Sijo Poet Forum.

Though Flowers Fall I Have Never Forgotten You: The Collected Poems of Jeong Ho-seung | 꽃 이 져도 나 는 너 를 잊은 적 없다 : 정 호승 시선집

by Jeong Ho-seung; translated by Brother Anthony of Taizé and Susan Hwang
This collection by Jeong Ho-seung, Korea's most famous poet, explores humanity's innate loneliness, misery, desire, love, and suffering. Ho-seung has received a number of literary honors including the Seoul City Literary Award, the Jeong Ji-yong Literary Award, the Pyeonun Literary Award, the Sanghwa Poetry Award, and the Gongcho Literary Award.

Bluebird

by Eun Hee Pak; translated by Sara Pak Eun Hee Pak's poetry book blends love, dread, and everything in between with natural imagery to create a vibrant collection of poems. Bluebird features images taken by the Pak Family (who inspired this collection of poems). Eun Hee received the Korean Expatriate Literary Prize in 2017 when she presented her first poems that year and later received the Creative Literature New Poet Award in 2018. She is part of the Korean Expatriate Literary Association.

Do You Know That Faraway Land?

by Shin Sŏk-jŏng; translated and introduced by Sung-Il Lee
Shin Sok-jong's poetry is a significant influence on contemporary Korean poetry. Sok-jong is recognized for weaving words to create dreamy experiences while dealing with life's difficult realities. His poetry depends on emotional experiences that range from grief to optimism and conveys han, the feeling of melancholy, and suffering in his poems.

Enough To Say It's Far: Selected Poems of Pak Chaesam

Pak Chaesam; translated by David R. McCann and Jiwon Shin.
A well-known contemporary poet from South Korea, Pak Chaesam’s work is defined by personal depictions of human connection, nature, indirection, nostalgia, reflectiveness, and, most significantly, han, to produce poetry that seems intimate to reality. His numerous honors include the Literature of Peace Award in 1987 and the Cho Yeon-Hyun Literature Award in 1988.



Spanish Language Poetry Collection

At the Threshold of Memory: A Bilingual Critical Anthology of New and Selected Poems

by Marjorie Agosín, compiled & edited by Celeste Kostopoulos-Cooperman.
Human rights advocate and Chilean-American writer Marjorie Agosín is the author of more than a dozen poetry collections, anthologies, and literary essays. Agosín has received numerous awards, including; the Peabody Award and Pura Belpré Award. At the Threshold of Memory: A Bilingual Critical Anthology of new and selected poems, brings together more than 20 years of this author’s writings as she writes about ancestors, women, children, the impoverished, and the disinherited. The poet is accompanied by her exile experience and great humanistic views.