'Forest(숲)' 소개--코리아타임스 (2012년 7월 7일)

오늘 아침 코리아타임스에 제 시집 '숲(Forest)'에 대한 기사가 실렸습니다.

곽제엽 기자가 쓴 아담하고 친절한 기사, 아래에 옮겨두니 한 번 읽어보시지요.

기사의 첫문장에 저를 코리아타임스 칼럼니스트로 소개했는데, 그건 사실이 아닙니다.

코리아타임스에 오랫동안 쓰던 칼럼(Random Walk)을 작년 10월에 그만두었으니까요.

Forest

Kim Heung-sook; Seoul Selection: 180 pp; 9,500 won

Written by veteran author, radio host and Korea Times columnist Kim Heung-sook, “Forest” is a poignant selection of unadorned poems, which invites readers into a world of self-reflection and thought.

Inspired by a forest where the author sought refuge from the burdens of daily life, the 80 or so poems cover a range of topics, from love to loneliness, from hope to sorrow. Interlaced among the simple poems of five to six lines is Kim’s twinkling humor and underlying contemplation on the current state of the world.

A unique aspect of “Forest” is that the author wrote both English and Korean versions of her poems. By doing so, she has been able to preserve the true nuances and cadences of the meanings behind the words.

“Forest” is also Kim’s call for the poet within each of us. As she says in the preface, “This book, then, is a letter from one poet to all the poets of the world. I hope those who receive it will build as many of their own ‘temples of words’ as possible, for writing poems is one of the most beautiful ways of saving the world from becoming a darker place.”

— KWAAK JE-YUP