Poet Choi Jeong-rye Passes Away at Age 66

Poet Choi Jeong-rae [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Poet Choi Jeong-rye passed away on the 16th due to a chronic illness. She was 66 years old.

Born in 1955 in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, the late poet debuted in 1990 through Hyundae Sihak. She received the Hyundae Literary Award, Baekseok Literary Award, Midang Literary Award, among others. Even while battling illness, she never stopped writing poetry. In November last year, after receiving the Oh Jang-hwan Literary Award for 'Gaechun-eun Yong-ui Hometown,' she published her seventh poetry collection, 'Bitgeumul,' after five years.

The poet sought to capture the diverse scenes of everyday life through prose poetry. Upon publishing her posthumous work 'Bitgeumul,' she stated that traditional poetic forms are insufficient to express the complex and multifaceted nature of our modern life, and she was experimenting with how to infuse poetic elements into prose narratives. She explained that this began from a fundamental question about what poetry truly is.

In addition to 'Bitgeumul' and 'Gaechun-eun Yong-ui Hometown,' she published poetry collections such as 'Nae Gwitsok-ui Jangdaenamusup' and 'Bulgeun Bat.' In 2019, she translated and published the prose poetry collection 'Returning to the City of White Donkeys' by American surrealist poet James Tate.

The funeral is being held at Sinchon Severance Hospital. The funeral procession will take place on the morning of the 18th.

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