Crow's Eye View: The Infamy of
Lee Sang, Korean Poet, translated by Myong-Hee Kim
The Word Works International Editions, 2002
Myong-Hee Kim has worked a fantastic labor of love with Crow's Eye View: The Infamy of Lee Sang, her translation of the Korean poet who is also often referred to as Yi Sang.
Though he died at an early age, Sang has achieved respect and admiration for his poetry, which was (and continues to be) as radical as that of the language poets of our own century. For example, here is the translation of Sang's poem "Clan":
Even the skeletons in the ancestral tomb demand repayment of the original balance of blood cells owed. The moon shines immensely all over the world. Trembling, I am discovered in every corner: "Don't you know that the seal of your clan has long been invalid, Sir?" I want to respond with compposure. But I cannot escape this hateful equation as easily as I can discard this wooden chop from my body.
I think that "Poem No. 15" is perhaps my favorite, and I regret that it is too long to print in its entirety. A couple of sections of it will have to suffice:
1.
I am in a room with no mirror. As I suspected, the I in the mirror is out. Now I tremble, afraid of the I in the mirror, wondering if somewhere out there the I in the mirror is conspiring against me.
4.
The dream in which I am absent. The mirror that doesn't show my disguise. I aspire to solitude at the price of competence. I make up my mind to persuade the I in the mirror to commit suicide. I point to a window with no landscape. That is the window for suicides. But he tells me that unless I kill myself he cannot commit suicide. The I in the mirror is an almost immortal bird.
Sang's surreal work is infused with politics and a keen eye on society, bringing forward his search for truth and justice in dire times. Artist Janice Olsen has captured the mood of Sang's poetry in her art works, which beautifully accompany the poems.
Crow's Eye View is a wonderful and exciting collection, as well as a piece of history, as this is the first ever English-language collection of Sang's poems. Don't miss out on it!
You can also purchase this book through The Word Works, the publisher.
