The title section of Kim Hyesoon's powerful new book, Autobiography of Death, consists of forty-nine poems, each poem representing a single day during which the spirit roams after death before it enters the cycle of reincarnation. The poems not only give voice to those who met unjust deaths during Korea's violent contemporary history, but also unveil what Kim calls "the structure of death, that we remain living in." Autobiography of Death, Kim's most compelling work to date, at once re-enacts trauma and narrates our historical death-how we have died and how we survive within this cyclical structure. In this sea of mirrors, the plural "you" speaks as a body of multitudes that has been beaten, bombed, and buried many times over by history. The volume concludes on the other side of the mirror with "Face of Rhythm," a poem about individual pain, illness, and meditation.
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On the subway your eyes roll up once. That's eternity. The rolled-up eyes eternally magnified. You must have bounced out of the train. It seems that you're dying. COMMUTE
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(@NewDirections, 27 November 2018, e-book, 128 pages, borrowed from @natpoetrylib via @OverDriveLibs, translated by @DonMeeChoi)
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I'd never heard of the poet before so had zero expectations for this collection. I don't think I've ever read any poetry by South Korean poets. I loved every poem in this collection. It's very rare to stumble across a poet who's so original and talented. Hyesoon's poetry is very unique in structure and style. The poems are very surreal almost hypnotic, as if Haruki Murakami had written the poems. The style reminded me a lot of his work. I've never read anything quite like Hyesoon before. Autobiography of Death is a brilliant collection. The best poems are Lean on the Water, Everyday Everyday Everyday, Death's Magic-Compressed Distance, I Want to go to the Island and Lowering the Coffin. I need to read more of Hyesoon's work ASAP.
