AZALEA: A Journal of Korean Literature & Culture
The Korea Institute announces the launch of a new literary journal—AZALEA: Journal of Korean Literature & Culture. The debut volume features over 400 pages of fiction, poetry, essays, and other writings.
The “Korea from the Outside” section of AZALEA features Robert Pinsky, Poet Laureate 2004-2005, writing on the poetry of Han Yong-un. Orhan Pamuk, winner of Nobel Prize for Literature in 2006, presents a short travelogue on his visit to Korea. The “Writer in Focus” section is devoted to Kim Young-ha, author of recent controversial works like I Have the Right to Destroy Myself, featuring three of his major short stories and an author interview.
An interview with Peter Lee, a founding father of Korean literature in the U.S. who retired last summer from his position at UCLA, recounts remarkably vivid recollections of his youth in Korea, including his day-to-day life in Seoul when Korea was liberated from Japanese colonial rule, and provides valuable information for the next generation of scholars.
In the “Another Perspective” section, David McCann, director of the Korea Institute, presents a new translation of Hwang Sun-won’s “Cranes,” following with a new interpretive essay on the work of this seminal modern writer. Also featured are Heinz Insu Fenkl’s translation and discussion of “The Dreaming Beast,” the little-known debut story by world-renowned director of Oasis, Lee Chang-dong.
The journal also includes 49 poems, highlighting the importance of poetry in contemporary Korean literature. Among the 10 poets featured are notable world poet Ko Un, a nominee for last year’s Nobel Prize in Literature, and renowned dissident poet Kim Chiha.
Two years of work and generous support from the International Communication Foundation have made a vital new forum for students, teachers, translators, and those interested in Korean literature. Supplemental support for translations was provided by the Korean Literature Translation Institute. Distribution is in partnership with the University of Hawaii Press.
The next issue, due out in September in 2008, will feature a newly-emerging group of poets and women writers. A special feature on North Korean literature will introduce fiction, poetry, and visual materials little-known to the outside world.
AZALEA can be ordered directly from the University of Hawaii Press and Amazon.com:
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UHP Journals Log: uhpjournals.wordpress.com
Azalea journal homepage: www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/journals/azalea/
Azalea subscription info page: www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/journals/azalea/AZorder.html
Azalea in the UHP online bookstore: www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/cart/shopcore/?db_name=uhpress&page=shop/flypage&product_sku=978-0-9795800-0-0
Contact Azalea editorial staff: lee41@fas.harvard.edu
