Traveler Maps: Poems by Ko Un.
KO UN,.
Traveler Maps: Poems by Ko Un.
First Edition of Traveler Maps: Poems by Ko Un; signed twice by Ko Un with a floral ink drawing
Cambridge, Massachusetts: Tamal Vista Publications, 2004.
$850.00
In Stock
Item Number: 149331
First edition of this prolific South Korean poet’s collection of poems. Octodecimo, original publisher’s wrappers, publisher’s printed paper sleeve, frontispiece, with twelve double-page sheets that unfold into 12 inch by 12 inch pages. Boldly signed by the author twice, once on the title page and once on the inside of the publisher’s printed paper sleeve with an ink drawing of three flowers. The “Traveler Maps design is based on a 17th-century book of maps used by Korean travelers – something put in their pockets to help find the way. This book is meant to help you find your way to some of the poetic places Ko Un visits.” In near fine condition. Translated by David R. McCann. Calligraphy by Sukja de Fremery. Art by Michelle Powers. Design by Wayne de Fremery.
Ko Un (born 1933) is a highly prolific and influential South Korean poet, essayist, and cultural activist whose work spans lyric, epic, and reflective forms, and has been translated widely, earning him numerous national and international literary honors, including the Griffin Poetry Prize’s Lifetime Recognition Award in 2008. Born in Gunsan during the Japanese occupation, Ko endured the traumas of the Korean War, periods of imprisonment for his pro-democracy activism, and personal struggles, all of which deeply shaped his poetic sensibility. One of his signature projects is Maninbo (“Ten Thousand Lives”), an ongoing series of poems memorializing myriad individuals he has encountered, reflecting his ambition to map memory, history, and individual being through verse.
