A collection of wise sayings in which the 72-year-old poet calmly offers enlightening advice to other poets is the latest book least likely to benefit from the surge in demand for Korean literature.
“Kick against the words like you would kick back on a swing. You should feel as if the soles of your feet are touching the sky,” Lee Sung-bok suggests in his hit title “Indeterminate Inflorescence” I’m doing it.
The work was translated and printed last year by a small American specialty printing company, but it unexpectedly sold out in bookstores and was immediately reprinted four times while the publisher spent nights shipping the edition around the world. was held. Penguin will publish its first major English edition on Allen Lane’s label in November.
“Indeterminate Inflorescence” by Lee Sung-bok, translated by Anton Ha. Photo: Allen Lane
This news follows last week’s announcement that the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to author Han Kang, not only the first Korean winner but also the first Asian woman.
International sales of Han, 53, whose books include “Vegetarianism and Human Behavior” have increased rapidly in recent days. More than 1 million copies of her work have been purchased since she was named as a recipient of the award.
When the news rang from the Swedish Academy that he had won the Nobel Prize, Han’s first instinct was to bring glory to his country.
“I grew up with Korean literature, and it feels very close to me,” she says. “So I hope this news is good for Korean literature readers, as well as my friends and writers.”
The mass-market fiction trade is also increasing the appeal of Korean stories.
Recent bestsellers include “Welcome to Hyonam-dong Book Club” by Van Borum. Kim Ji-young was born in 1982 in Cho Nam-joo. And President Barack Obama’s 2017 favorite is pachinko by Korean-American Min Jin Lee.
Son Won-pyung’s hit movie “Almond” was also released in the same year, and the sequel “Counters at Thirty: A Novel” is scheduled to be released next year.
So the publication of Lee’s collection of 470 lyrical insights on November 14 is the next, more elevated, wave of K-culture that saw K-pop music sweep across the UK for the first time a decade ago. It will show the stages.
Admirably, the poet’s book now counts BTS band members among its many Korean fans. The original youth music trend has since coincided with the success of a series of influential Korean TV dramas, including the Netflix hit “Squid Game” and the award-winning films “Parasite” and “The Decision to Leave.” I am. Now, the publishing world is enjoying this awakening appetite.
Tang Wei and Park Hae Il appear in a scene from the Korean movie “The Decision to Leave.” Photo: TCD/Prod.DB/Alamy
Award-winning Swedish translator Anton Ha, best known for writing the best-selling book “I Want to Die, But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki,” discovered the Lee Seung-bok collection at a bookstore in Seoul and was immediately captivated.
Eventually he convinced Seattle-based Sublunary to take the publishing risk. The quote soon appeared all over social media, with fans ranging from novelist Ro Kwon to rapper Kim Nam Joon. And, as Hur pointed out, the market is expanding. Until last year, only about 10 Korean books were published in English each year.
Born in Sangju, Lee is already one of South Korea’s most prominent and celebrated living poets. He taught creative writing classes on poetry for 30 years, and over a decade his students compiled his most inspirational thoughts, which were published in South Korea in 2015.
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Sublunary publisher Josh Rothes admits he was surprised by the high reception for the title, but he also quickly explains why anyone interested in writing should pick up this book. He said he understood.
“When I first read the book, the fact that it became a viral sensation was the furthest thing from my mind, because I was just obsessed with the book itself,” Roces said. spoke.
“I was excited that this was the only criteria for the book I wanted to work on, both as a writer and as an editor, and I knew I had to publish it.”
Many of Lee’s literary aphorisms read like poems themselves. Some people try to set rules for better communication. Something like this: “If you appeal to logic alone, you lose emotion. If you ignore the layers, the poem becomes formal and influenced rather than organic.”
For Penguin publisher Chloe Currens, this book is more than a handbook for writers and poets. “Lee Sung-bok is a poet, and his words here speak to creative people who feel stuck or uninspired. The power to achieve this comes from his originality.” she said.
“I also think this book will delight readers by vividly evoking the world and the creatures that inhabit it,” Currens added. “And by the power of surprise.
“At least I have never encountered a book that could meaningfully connect poetry to everything from prayer to the capture of bin Laden to golf.”
This article was modified on October 20, 2024. An earlier version said Han Gang was the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. In fact, although an Asian man has won this Nobel Prize, she is the first Asian woman.
