Writing Alongside Kim Hyesoon (Living Room May 8 – 7P)

May 1, 2012

Splabman

The moving dot can be extinguished in an instant, yet it contains all information, even eternity. Try placing a dot on the undulating waves. The moment I extend my arm, the dot is already gone.

—from the essay “In the Oxymoronic World” by Kim Hyesoon,

translated by Don Mee Choi

Kim Hyesoon

This Tuesday at Living Room, we will write alongside one of South Korea’s most prominent contemporary women poets, Kim Hyesoon (b. 1955). We will begin by looking at the lecture, “In the Oxymoronic World” before turning to her poetry which brims with powerful imagery, stark language, and playful innovation. Jeanne Morel is your guide.

Kim Hyesoon says of her work, “What I wrote about was cooking and my ingredient was death. I tried to turn the heaviness of oppression into something playful and light, so that what I ended up with was a type of poetry that did not appear to be political.” After a brief immersion in her words, we will write a series of experiments responding to her work and incorporating elements from it into our own writing. After that we will critique work as usual.

Writers of all ages, backgrounds and skill levels gather Tuesdays at 7P to read new work, the work of someone else or to just be in the engaging company of other writers. Your donation of $5 helps SPLAB continue our programming. Please bring 8 copies of the work you plan to read. Copies are no longer provided by SPLAB.

Living Room happens @ SPLAB in the Cultural Corner at 3651 S. Edmunds. (Look for the SPLAB sign on the wall and come inside.) We’re 2 blocks from the Columbia City Link Light Rail Station. (Parking is available on the school grounds.)