Pulsating with the reckless sorrow of a young man who belongs neither to himself nor the world, MUTINOUS INKBLOOD is a canonical work of modern Korean poetry that depicts the squalor of post-war Korea. The author, Heo Yeon, was an aspiring Catholic priest before he became a poet; as a sinner who has come to refuse salvation, he finds glimmers of beauty in the paintings of “lewd love / on cracked walls”, the “wretched music” of a worn-down truck, and “children with inked arms” who sell their blood to get by. The speaker of MUTINOUS INKBLOOD is unable to find lasting refuge in religion, family, or nation, but if there’s anything he holds fast to, it is the “raw sinew” of love, that fundamentally undignified furor. This is why this collection continues to reach new readers decades after its original publication: in that impossible endeavor the poet has resigned himself to, readers will recognize their own sense of wild yearning that quickens their blood. May we all catch that “goddamned disease”.
- KR Publication date:
- First published in 1991, reissued in 2014
- KR Publisher: Minumsa
- Length: 128 pages, 62 poems
- Fully translated manuscript & samples available
- Translation funded by the LTI Korea’s 2022 manuscript translation grant