Poet Ko Un: Lecture and Poetry Reading
The prolific Korean poet and activist Ko Un will make a rare Chicago appearance. A former Buddhist monk and political prisoner, Ko Un was a finalist for the Noble Prize for Literature on multiple occasions. he has published more than 150 books over 50 of which have been translated into 25 foreign languages, and is the recipient of more than 20 prestigious literary awards and honors around the globe. Ko Un aims to make his entire life, and even is grave, a poem, refusing to be imprisoned by efforts to write poetry as an end itself. it is because of this that most Korean literary critics agree that his poems have attained a great liberation from language.
For more information listen to this BBC documentary about Ko Un
Hosted by the Poetry Foundation. Co-sponsored by the Chicago Public Library, the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea, the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, University of Illinois at Chicago, Seoul National University Alumni Association, and the Sejong Cultural Society