Gokseong Hosts Literary Festival in Memory of Poet Jo Tae-il

September 3rd, 3 PM, Gokseong-gun Jotaeil Poetry Museum -

4th Jotaeil Literary Award goes to poet Song Kyung-dong's 'The Sound of Dreaming, I Fell Asleep'

[Gokseong=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Cha Jong-sun] On September 3rd, 2022, the ‘2022 Jukhyung Jo Tae-il Literary Festival’ will be held at the Jo Tae-il Poetry Literature Memorial Hall in Gokseong-gun, Jeollanam-do.

This Jo Tae-il Literary Festival is held under the theme ‘With My Most Precious Life’ to commemorate the 23rd anniversary (solar calendar September 7) of Jukhyung (竹兄) poet Jo Tae-il (1941?1999), who was born in Gokseong.

There will be poetry recitations, performances, a poetry and painting exhibition, and the 4th Jo Tae-il Literary Award ceremony.

At the literary festival, poet Kwon Hyuk-so and children from Gokseong will recite memorial poems for poet Jo Tae-il together.

Also, novelist Son Byung-hyun, a disciple of poet Jo Tae-il, will be a guest speaker sharing anecdotes from his school days with the poet.

The local music group ‘Damso’ will perform songs composed to the poems of poet Jo Tae-il.

There will also be congratulatory performances by baritone Hwang Seong-cheol and soprano Im Hyun-jin, including , , and .

A memorial poetry and painting exhibition will be held around the Jo Tae-il Poetry Literature Memorial Hall.

It will feature a permanent exhibition of about 50 poems nationwide, including representative works of poet Jo Tae-il and works by past Jo Tae-il Literary Award-winning poets such as Park Nam-jun, Son Taek-su, and Lee Dae-heum.

The 4th Jo Tae-il Literary Award was awarded to poet Song Kyung-dong’s 《Kkumkkuneun Sori Hago Jappajyeotne》(published by Changbi).

The winner will receive a plaque, a prize of 20 million won, and a seal artwork by Jeong Byeong-rye, engraved with Jo Tae-il’s representative poem as a special prize.

This year’s Jo Tae-il Literary Award was judged based on poetry collections submitted through open call and recommendations from May 1 to June 30.

The judging panel included Ko Young-seo (poet), Kim Cheong-woo (poet, literary critic), Lee Eun-gyu (poet), Lim Heon-young (literary critic), Kwak Jae-gu (poet), and Park Nam-jun (poet).

The judging committee stated, “We examined how horizontally connected the literary spirit of poet Jo Tae-il is, and furthermore, how much the poet’s literary practice remains alive without losing the spirit of the times. Poet Song Kyung-dong’s poetry collection fits perfectly with these criteria.”

“Although the time spent reviewing 12 poetry collections was quite long, the time it took for the judges to reach a unanimous decision on the winner was very short.”

Meanwhile, poet Song Kyung-dong expressed his award acceptance remarks, saying, “I am only fearful whether I can bear the name Jo Tae-il.

For our still divided land, sky, and melody, I am anxious whether someone without the courage to ‘add the trembling blood, the worn flesh, and even the white bones altogether’ (from ) can stand before the spirit of the teacher. After suddenly receiving this award, I am at a loss about how to live on.

Ultimately, if I must bear the burden called Jo Tae-il, wherever I fall or stumble, I will become a small seed and walk this given path without regret.”

Poet Song Kyung-dong was born in 1967 in Beolgyo, Jeollanam-do.

He began his literary career in 2001 with 《Writers Opening Tomorrow》 and 《Practical Literature》.

His representative works include poetry collections 《Deep Sleep》(2006), 《Answering Trivial Questions》(2009), 《I Am Not Korean》(2016), and the essay collection 《The Dreamer Gets Caught》(2011).

From 1992 to 2004, he was active in the Guro Workers’ Literature Association; in 2008, the Kiryung Electronics Irregular Workers’ Solidarity Committee; in 2009, the National Countermeasure Committee for the Yongsan Evictees Tragedy Investigation; in 2014, co-head of the ‘Eul’s National Vote’ against labor law deterioration; in 2014, the Sewol Ferry National Assembly; in 2016?2017, chief of the Gwanghwamun Camping Village; and in 2017, general secretary of the Cultural and Artistic Blacklist Investigation Committee.

Currently, he works as a full-time member of the Ikcheon Cultural Foundation’s Gil Dong-mu, a board member of the Irregular Workers’ House Kkuljam, and a planning committee member of the Social Solidarity Shelter Indramang.

Gokseong=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Cha Jong-sun hss79@asiae.co.kr

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