{"title":"Ko Un","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"first-person-sorrowful-book-ko-un-9781852249533","title":"First Person Sorrowful","description":"Ko Un has long been a living legend in Korea, both as a poet and as a person. Allen Ginsberg once wrote, 'Ko Un is a magnificent poet, combination of Buddhist cognoscente, passionate political libertarian, and naturalist historian.' When a writer has published as much as Ko Un has in the course of more than fifty years of writing, it is hard to know where to begin, what to translate. For this collection, his translators have selected a hundred or so poems from the five collections published since the year 2002, collections acclaimed by Korean critics as bringing poetry to a new level of cosmic reference. Nothing shows more clearly his stature as a writer than the variety of themes and emotions found in his most recent work. Readers here have access for the first time to many of the poems Ko Un has produced in the 21st century, as he approaches his eightieth year, his energy and originality unabated. As Michael McLure wrote years ago: 'Ko Un's poetry has the old-fashionedness of a muddy rut on a country road after rain, and yet it is also as state-of-the-art as a DNA micro-chip.' That remains true today. Introduction by Sir Andrew Motion.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49536897745169,"sku":"GOR005745679","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50178301657361,"sku":"CIN1852249536G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50400770392337,"sku":"CIN1852249536VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50725795266833,"sku":"GOR006462900","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51269916918033,"sku":"NGR9781852249533","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52717094306065,"sku":"NLS9781852249533","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52755825590545,"sku":"NIN9781852249533","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1852249536.jpg?v=1751155241"},{"product_id":"maninbo-peace-war-book-ko-un-9781780372426","title":"Maninbo: Peace \u0026 War","description":"Ko Un has long been a living legend in Korea, both as a poet and as a person. Allen Ginsberg once wrote, 'Ko Un is a magnificent poet, combination of Buddhist cognoscente, passionate political libertarian, and naturalist historian.' Maninbo (Ten Thousand Lives) is the title of a remarkable collection of poems by Ko Un, filling thirty volumes, a total of 4001 poems containing the names of 5600 people, which took 30 years to complete. Ko Un first conceived the idea while confined in a solitary cell upon his arrest in May 1980, the first volumes appeared in 1986, and the project was completed 25 years after publication began, in 2010. Unsure whether he might be executed or not, he found his mind filling with memories of the people he had met or heard of during his life. Finally, he made a vow that, if he were released from prison, he would write poems about each of them. In part this would be a means of rescuing from oblivion countless lives that would otherwise be lost, and also it would serve to offer a vision of the history of Korea as it has been lived by its entire population through the centuries. A selection from the first 10 volumes of Maninbo relating to Ko Un's village childhood was published in the US in 2006 by Green Integer under the title Ten Thousand Lives. This edition is a selection from volumes 11 to 20, with the last half of the book focused on the sufferings of the Korean people during the Korean War. Essentially narrative, each poem offers a brief glimpse of an individual's life. Some span an entire existence, some relate a brief moment. Some are celebrations of remarkable lives, others recall terrible events and inhuman beings. Some poems are humorous, others are dark commemorations of unthinkable incidents. They span the whole of Korean history, from earliest pre-history to the present time. Poetry Book Society Recommended Translation.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49615867642129,"sku":"GOR007124579","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50401267941649,"sku":"CIN1780372426VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52817133568273,"sku":"CIN1780372426G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1780372426.jpg?v=1751153334"},{"product_id":"little-pilgrim-book-ko-un-9781888375435","title":"Little Pilgrim","description":"A 1991 bestseller in South Korea, where it was serialized in that country's largest newspaper, \u003ci\u003eLittle Pilgrim\u003c\/i\u003e is a tale of adventure and self-discovery in the tradition of Hermann Hesse's \u003ci\u003eSiddhartha\u003c\/i\u003e. Based on the \u003ci\u003eGandavyuha\u003c\/i\u003e, one of Buddhism's deepest and most challenging scriptures, Ko Un's \u003ci\u003eLittle Pilgrim\u003c\/i\u003e relates the heroic journey of Sudhana, who sets out to discover what is truth. Throughout 20 years of fantastic travels, Sudhana encounters teachers that are human, animal, and spirit as he navigates mountain vistas, lush valleys, and remote villages. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDrawing from his own 20-year journey, as well as first-hand experiences with war and monastic life, Ko Un infuses his book with reflections and memories, creating fascinating characters and a vibrant story. The pinnacle of Ko Un's career as a writer and as a man in search of truth, as well as the first of Ko Un's works of fiction to be translated into English, \u003ci\u003eLittle Pilgrim\u003c\/i\u003e is a poignant voyage that resonates on many levels. A man of great insight. --Thich Nhat Hanh","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49644248170769,"sku":"GOR007046643","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49996504138001,"sku":"CIN1888375434G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1888375434.jpg?v=1751028038"},{"product_id":"ten-thousand-lives-maninbo-volumes-2125-book-ko-un-9780940650008","title":"Ten Thousand Lives: Maninbo, Volumes 21–25","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49659213349137,"sku":"GOR013732394","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50368536576273,"sku":"CIN0940650002VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50373047550225,"sku":"CIN0940650002G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0940650002.jpg?v=1751266507"},{"product_id":"himalaya-poems-book-ko-un-9781557134127","title":"Himalaya Poems","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49663233720593,"sku":"GOR008128242","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/155713412X.jpg?v=1751212961"},{"product_id":"beyond-self-book-ko-un-9780938077992","title":"Beyond Self","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49768751694097,"sku":"GOR012910600","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50818949447953,"sku":"GOR009878257","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0938077996.jpg?v=1751234645"},{"product_id":"this-side-of-time-poems-by-ko-un-book-ko-un-9781935210320","title":"This Side of Time: Poems by Ko Un","description":"\"Ko Un's poems evoke the open creativity and fluidity of nature, and funny turns and twists of mind. Mind is sometimes registered in Buddhist terms--Buddhist practice being part of Ko Un's background. Ko Un writes spare, short-line lyrics direct to the point, but often intricate in both wit and meaning. Ko Un has now traveled worldwide and is not only a major spokesman for all Korean culture, but a voice for Planet Earth Watershed as well.\"  --Gary Snyder  Ko Un is one of the most respected poets in Korea and has been nominated several times for the Nobel Prize in Literature.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49811065307409,"sku":"CIN1935210327G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51054041694481,"sku":"NIN9781935210320","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52678689161489,"sku":"NLS9781935210320","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1935210327.jpg?v=1750868421"},{"product_id":"traveler-maps-book-ko-un-9780917436062","title":"Traveler Maps","description":"Many followers of Korean literature believe Ko Un - one of the country's most revered and prolific writers - will be nominated for a Nobel Prize. Once a Buddhist monk, then a political dissident, and always a poet, Ko Un is \"\"able to make the intensely personal into work having universal appeal and significance,\"\" writes David McCann, translator and professor of Korean literature.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50367646335249,"sku":"CIN0917436067G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0917436067.jpg?v=1751140321"},{"product_id":"what-book-ko-un-9781888375657","title":"What?","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50394422542609,"sku":"CIN1888375655G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53135827861777,"sku":"GOR007968918","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1888375655.jpg?v=1751061034"},{"product_id":"songs-for-tomorrow-book-ko-un-9781933382708","title":"Songs For Tomorrow","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50394738688273,"sku":"CIN1933382708G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1933382708.jpg?v=1751413930"},{"product_id":"ten-thousand-lives-book-ko-un-9781933382067","title":"Ten Thousand Lives","description":"Born in 1933 in a small village in Korea's North Cholla Province, Ko Un grew up in a Japanese-controlled land that was soon to experience the horrors of the Korean War. He became a Buddhist monk in 1952 and began writing in the late 1950s. This is his major, ongoing work which began during his imprisonment with a determination to describe every person he had ever met. Maninbo, as it is known in Korea is now in its 20th volume and he has plans for five more before its completion. Collected here is a selection from the first 10 volumes.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50401856389393,"sku":"CIN1933382066G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51421026550033,"sku":"GOR003348217","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53037068845329,"sku":"NIN9781933382067","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1933382066.jpg?v=1763634256"},{"product_id":"flowers-of-a-moment-book-ko-un-9781929918881","title":"Flowers of a Moment","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cp style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto\"\u003e\"Bodhisattva of Korean poetry, exuberant, demotic, abundant, obsessed with poetic creation . . . Ko Un is a magnificent poet, combination of Buddhist cognoscente, passionate political libertarian, and naturalist historian.\"--Allen Ginsberg\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \"Korea's greatest living Zen poet.\"--Lawrence Ferlinghetti\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eFlowers of a Moment\u003c\/i\u003e is a treasure trove of more than 180 brief poems by a major world poet at the apex of his career. A four-time Nobel Prize nominee,Ko Un grew up in Korea during the Japanese occupation. During the Korean War, he was conscripted by the People's Army. In 1952, he became a Buddhist and lived a monastic life for ten years.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto\"\u003eFor his activism confronting South Korea's dictatorial military government, he was imprisoned and tortured. He has published more than one hundred volumes of poetry, essays, fiction, drama, and translations of Chinese poetry. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eAt sunset\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003ea wish\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eto become a wolf beneath a fat full moon\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50479004680465,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50479005335825,"sku":"CIN1929918887G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52669698375953,"sku":"NLS9781929918881","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1929918887.jpg?v=1751347390"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-au\/collections\/author-books-by-ko-un.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}