Suji Kwock Kim


Suji Kwock Kim is a Korean-American-British poet and playwright.

Early life and education

Kim's parents, grandparents and great-grandparents were all born in what is now North Korea. Her maternal great-grandfather co-founded 조선어학회, the Korean Language Society, during the Japanese occupation of Korea. He later became a linguistics professor and dean at Yonsei University in Seoul.
Kim was educated at Yale University, the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, Seoul National University and Yonsei University, where she was a Fulbright Scholar, and Stanford University, where she was a Wallace Stegner Fellow.

Career

Kim's work has been published in Best American Poetry, The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, New Statesman, Irish Examiner, Slate, The Nation, The New Republic, The Paris Review, London Magazine, Poetry London, Poetry, recorded for BBC Radio
, National Public Radio, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Free Genoa, Radio Free Amsterdam, Poetry Unbound and The Slowdown; and translated into German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Croatian, Korean, Japanese, Arabic, and Bengali.

Music and theatre

Choral and vocal settings of her poems, composed by Mayako Kubo for the Tokyo Philharmonic Chorus, Chorusorganisation, Koreanische Frauengruppe Berlin, and Japanische Fraueninitiative Berlin, premiered at Pablo Casals Hall, Tokyo, and were performed at St. Mathias Church, Berlin and St. Geltow Church, Potsdam. Vocal settings of her work, composed by Jerome Blais, premiered at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, recorded by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, then were later performed by the Solera Quartet at the Art Institute of Chicago, May 2019, and recorded by WFMT-Chicago. Kim co-authored Private Property, a multimedia play showcased at Playwrights Horizons and produced at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Personal life

Kim married Raymond Short in 2007. She lives in London.

Awards

Works

Notes from the Divided Country Notes from the North Private Property
  • "hwajon," "Flight," "Looking at a Yi Dynasty Rice Bowl"
  • "The Ministry of Truth Renames the Famine," "Post-Nation"
  • "Occupation," "Fragments of the Forgotten War," "Montage with Neon"

Anthologies

American Religious Poems, ed. Harold Bloom. American War Poetry: 1700-2020, ed. Lorrie Goldensohn. Asian-American Poetry: The Next Generation. Backpack Literature, ed. Dana Gioia. The Bedford Introduction to Literature, 13th edition Berliner Anthologie Best American Poetry 2018. Best American Poetry 2016. Century of the Tiger: One Hundred Years of Korean Culture in America. Contemporary American Poetry. Contemporary American Poetry in Russian Translation. Crossing State Lines: An American Renga. Echoes Upon Echoes: New Korean American Writing, ed. Elaine Kim. The Future Dictionary of America, ed. Dave Eggers. The Griffin Poetry Prize Anthology. Inside Literature. An Introduction to Poetry. The Koreas, Charles Armstrong. Language for a New Century: Contemporary Voices from the Middle East, Asia and Beyond. Legitimate Dangers: American Poets of the New Century. Lineas Conectadas: Nueva Poesia de los Estates Unidos. Literature: A Pocket Anthology. Literature: A Portable Anthology. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Love is Strong as Death. A Mingling of Waters. The Paris Review Book for Planes, Trains, Elevators and Waiting Rooms. Places of Poetry: Mapping the Nation in Verse Poet's Choice: Poems from the Washington Post Poetry: A Pocket Anthology. Poetry For Students. Poetry On Record, 1888-2006: 98 Poets Read Their Work. Poetry 30. Roots and Seeds. Staying Human. To Gather Your Leaving: Asian Diaspora Poetry. The Wounded Line.
  • ''Twenty Years of Poem of the Week.''