Ko Un Night

David McCann

A capacity audience filled Harvard University's Paine Hall on Friday evening, October 8, to hear the Korean poet Ko Un read selections from his many books of poems. Following welcoming remarks by the Director of Harvard's Korea Institute, Professor Carter Eckert, and a general introduction by David McCann, Professor of Korean Literature at Harvard, the former Poet Laureate of the United States, Robert Haas, delivered a moving and insightful introduction to Ko Un and his work. Professor Haas's comments were of special interest as they portrayed the impression made by Ko Un upon one of America's leading poets. In comments afterwards, Mr. Haas expressed his interest in helping to find a publisher in the United States for Ko Un's work, a publisher specializing in poetry.

Ko Un next read from a selection of his works, with translations of the poems read by Professors Eckert and McCann, and by Professor Stephen Owen, University Professor of Chinese Literature at Harvard. The well known singer Ch'oi Sung-soo then performed two of Ko Un's poems set to music, and two of his own songs. The dancer Kim Sunho presented a dance interpretation of the well known poem "Autumn Letter," set to a recorded musical interpretation by Yang Hee-un.

Ko Un and Robert Haas then read a series of poems in the original and translation from the series Ten Thousand Lives, Maninbo. Ko Un closed the evening by reading two of his recent poems -- without the translation. The effect was electrifying.

The New England Korean Association hosted a reception outside Paine Hall following the close of the reading, and many of the audience found an opportunity to meet with Ko Un, to offer congratulations and to discuss his work. The undergraduate and graduate students who had assisted with the event were also able to meet with the poet, who very generously hosted dinners for both groups following the reading. This very successful event is the first, we hope, in a series of readings at Harvard University by Korean authors.

The Korea Institute acknowledges the generous support of the event's co-sponsors, the Daesan Foundation of Seoul, Korea, and the Korean Society of New England.