Poet Itaesu Awarded the 35th Sanghwa Poet Award

Poet Lee Taesu [Photo by Lee Sanghwa Memorial Association]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The Sanghwa Poet Award Committee announced on the 9th that poet Lee Tae-su has been selected as the recipient of the 35th Sanghwa Poet Award for 2020, with his poetry collection "To Myself" chosen as the award-winning work.

Poet Lee Tae-su was born in 1947 in Uiseong, Gyeongbuk, and made his literary debut in 1974 through Modern Literature. Since 1976, he has been active as a member of the Free Poetry group and has published 16 poetry collections, including "The Shadow's Shade," "The Melancholy Dream of Flight," "The Blue Room Underwater," "On Your Invisible Palm," and "The Ladder in a Dream."

He has received the Daegu City Cultural Award (Literature), Dongseo Literary Award, Korean Catholic Literary Award, Cheonsangbyeong Poetry Literary Award, and Daegu Arts Award. He has also served as editorial columnist for Maeil Newspaper, adjunct professor at Daegu Haany University, vice president of the Korean Newspaper and Broadcasting Editors Association, and president of the Daegu Poets Association. The prize money is 20 million KRW.

Poet Lee Tae-su expressed his acceptance speech, saying, "To be honest, I feel shy and embarrassed. Since I did not expect it, I also think of it as an unexpected fortune. I have only been active in Daegu since my debut, but this is the first time I have received a literary award presented in Daegu since winning the Daegu City Cultural Award in 1986. Many thoughts cross my mind. While honoring the literature and life of Mr. Sanghwa Lee, a pioneer of the Daegu poetry scene, I want to faithfully walk the path of poetry without shame."

The judges were former Korean Poets Association presidents Kim Jong-hae and Yoon Seok-san, literary critic Kim Seon-hak, Professor Eom Won-tae of Daegu Catholic University, and literary critic Son Jin-eun.

The judges each recommended three poetry collections published between 2018 and February of this year. As a result, poetry collections by 11 poets?Gu Seok-bon, Kwon Dal-woong, Kim Seong-chun, Park So-ran, Lee Kyung-rim, Lee Ki-cheol, Lee Moon-gil, Lee Tae-su, Jeong Byeong-geun, Jang In-su, and Han Young-ok?were shortlisted as final candidates, and the judging took place on the 4th at the Sanghwa Poet Award Committee office.

The judges explained, "Poet Lee Tae-su has shown a clear deepening and sharpening of his perspective on subjects as a human being, which he had not reached during his time as a journalist. His reflections on nature and humanity, especially inner reflection, have reached a new level, achieving a chilling depth that strikes our minds and perceptions with the feeling of 'This is poetry!' We believe his poetry, which has been somewhat undervalued compared to his poetic achievements, needs to be newly spotlighted, and thus he was chosen as the recipient of this year's Sanghwa Poet Award."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.