Park Ra-yeon
Park Ra Yeon is a South Korean poet.
Biography
Park Ra Yeon was born in Boseong, South Korea in 1951. She studied Korean literature at Korea National Open University and received her master's and doctoral degrees at the University of Suwon and Wonkwang University, respectively. She made her literary debut when her poem "Seoure saneun pyeongganggongju" won the Dong-a Ilbo New Writer's Contest in 1990. Her first poetry collection of the same name, published in 1991, was received well by critics and readers for the compassion and subtlety in her writing.Park went on to publish Seojeongui chu in 1993, Saengbam kkajuneun saram in 1993, Chumchuneun namja siseuneun yeoja in 1995, Neoege sedeureo saneun dongan in 1996, Gongjungsogeui nae jeongwon in 2000, Uju doragasyeotda in 2006, Bicheui saseoham in 2009, and Norangnabiro beonjineun ohu in 2012. She won the 3rd Yun Dongju Literature Award in 2008 and 5th Hyesan Park Dujin Literary Award in 2010.
Writing
Recurring themes in Park Ra Yeon's poetry include poverty, loneliness, sadness, pain, and parting. The tone of her poems, however, remains bright, hopeful, and compassionate. Literary critic Oh Saeng-geun writes: "Her poetry is founded on a rich supply of tears and sadness, but far from being tragic or pathetic, it provides fertile ground for a beautiful and healthy vitality." In Park's poetry, pain always leads to hope, and her personas find new love in spite of their scars. Her poems do not exaggerate emotions or thoughts, using simple and natural language. They show a positive attitude toward life and the world based on the faith that there is a divine power. They also contain an almost maternal instinct to give back life to the injured and the dead. On her 2012 poetry collection Norangnabiro beonjineun ohu, poet Shin Kyeong-nim observes that "Park's work combines the familiar sensibilities of traditional Korean lyric poetry with the Modernist thirst for something new."Works
Poetry Collections1. 『서울에 사는 평강공주』
Princess Pyeonggang Living in Seoul. Moonji, 1991.
2. 『서정의 추』
The Pendulum of Lyricism. Sinsaeng, 1993.
3. 『생밤 까주는 사람』
Someone Who Peels Raw Chestnuts For Me. Moonji, 1993.
4. 『춤추는 남자 시쓰는 여자』
He Dances, She Writes Poetry. Goryeowon, 1995.
5. 『너에게 세들어 사는 동안』
While I Am Your Tenant. Moonji, 1996.
6. 『공중 속의 내 정원』
My Garden in the Air. Moonji, 2000.
7. 『우주 돌아가셨다』
The Universe Has Passed Away. Random House Korea, 2006.
8. 『빛의 사서함』
Postbox of Light. Moonji, 2009.
9. 『노랑나비로 번지는 오후』
The Afternoon Seeping into a Yellow Butterfly. Lyric Poetry and Poetics, 2012.
Awards
1. 2008: 3rd Yun Dongju Literature Award2. 2010: 5th Hyesan Park Dujin Literary Award