Children of Fire

● A poetry book by Hanyong Jeong, a Korean poet _ [Poet's Note]


This is my second book of English poems. Like the first one, Seth Feldman helped me translate from Korean into English. He studied Korean while staying here a few years ago and his familiarity with Korean culture gives him a special insight into my work. In those years, he and I spent many a night filling our bowls with rice wine as we discussed literature and traded reflections on life. He became one of my close friends. I believe he understands my poetry and is more qualified than anyone else to render my poems in English. 


Naturally, all the poems in this book were penned in Korean. I have published six Korean poetry books with one more pending publication. This book is a compilation of works selected from my last three volumes. Those three books are independent in theme and focus. The 5th book, Ghosts, explores the problem of genocide in human history. Selections from that book are presented in Section 4 of the present volume. The 6th book, The birth of Lies, explores the hypocrisy of daily life by contrasting it with fantasy. Pieces from that book appear in Section 3. The poems in Sections 1 and 2 were selected from my most recent book, A Thousand Years of Rain. Many of the poems examine the theme of alienation and an uncertain future as society moves deeper into the frontier of the digital age.


I often get poetic material from everyday life: street scenes, the news on the Internet or TV, episodes from friends and books, and so on. I try to make my readers feel as if they are in the real world. The narrative is one of the most powerful tools in the kit of any writer. Everyone is interested in a good story, and I take my cue from knowing that when I write. Now and then I have heard my work criticized as unpoetic. Readers who think poetry is the product of lyricism may find much of my work shocking. However, the stories I tell aim to show the grim and exuberant essence of human experience beyond passive curiosity. I get a thrill when I see the startled looks on readers’ faces. It tells me that I’m doing my job.


My poems have been translated into English, Japanese, Macedonian, Bosnian, and Arabic. The world is vast and filled with readers in different places. I hope this book will bring them a little closer.