Morning Cho Myung-hee (1894~1938) morning, fair morning roof tops, roof tops trees, trees light silk garment with clear fragrance smiles, oh those smiles! and thus with spread wings, the earth greets a new morning a holy and a glorious morning. 아침 조명희(1894-1938) 아침 개인[1] 아침 지붕[2] 지붕 나무 나무 가벼운 나의(羅衣)[3] 맑은 향기[4] 소안(笑顔) 오오... Continue Reading →
By James Au It had been a considerable interval since my previous stay here. You might hold an inkling of curiosity concerning the degree of my current engagements or, quite possibly, the lack of lustre in my prose fails to ignite your interest in the least. Whichever the circumstance, I stand poised to unveil my... Continue Reading →
East S. M. (author), Mercy’s Quest: The Return, Auguries and Alchemy, 2022. 264 pgs. ISBN-13: 979-8985258905 (Hardcover) Review by James Au East S. M.’s Mercy’s Quest is a fantasy fiction with numerous Gothic elements that convey both thrill and mystery to the reader. If one assents to Tzvetan Todorov’s definition of “fantasy” in Introduction à... Continue Reading →
Joshua Senter, Still the Night Call. Roubidoux Press, 2021. ISBN: 978-1-7375856-0-2 (Paperback) 186 pgs. Review by James Au Today the world has been battered by a few unprecedented crises: The wave of coronavirus infection is coming one after another; Ukraine war is sparking fear for the third world war; the shortfall of energy and... Continue Reading →
Michel Hockx and Ivo Smith ed., Reading East Asian Writing: The Limits of Literary Theory. Routledge, 2014. ISBN: 978-1-138-86349-1 (Paperback) 299 pgs. Review by James Au I always have qualms about applying ‘western’ literary theories to any East Asian literary texts given the tremendous differences of norms and writing. At least certain adjustments are rendered... Continue Reading →
OVID (author), The Metamorphoses, trans. Horace Gregory. Signet Classics, 2001. ISBN: 978-0-451-674-53145-2 (Papercover) 464 pgs. Review by James Au Most English readers must be instantly familiar with the book title The Metamorphoses (8 A.D.) despite not having read it even for once. The considerable fame probably comes from its successors, including William Shakespeare’s Romeo... Continue Reading →
Masao Miyoshi (author), Off Center: Power and Culture Relations between Japan and the United States, Harvard University Press, 1991. ISBN: ISBN: 0-674-63175-7 (Hardcover) 289 pgs. Review by James Au Masao Miyoshi’s Off Center: Power and Culture Relations between Japan and the United States (Off Center in short) is an attempt to read Japanese literature from... Continue Reading →
If Words Have Found Their Limit James Au If words have found their limit, or poem has made its period, then love itself may see its day: from serendipity to disharmony until cacophony befalls, and seriously for one minute she’s sick to stay and after two she’s walked a long, long way. If time is... Continue Reading →
Love It Once More James Au This month last year you slowly leaned on me When little birds, or bugs, or breeze, did cease To tire us both who dreamed our honeyed dream, In whisper sweet of words I long to hear. In you I see my naked self (how true!) – Which by and... Continue Reading →
By Ma Recurring Motifs "No no senõr" is a catch phrase of Fulgencio Ramirez whenever he makes an important decision - something that alter his life tremendously. Although he always decrees that he is right, the exact opposite shows many times. The countless catch phrase, for example, can be found where Fulgencio meets Arthur in... Continue Reading →
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