Korean poets Ha Jaeyoun and Hwang Yuwon, translator and poet Jake Levine, and three poets from Louisiana: Rodrigo Toscano, Bernardo Wade, and Christine Kwon will perform at 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 17, at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon Ave, Metairie.

This event is free of charge and is open to the public. There is no registration.

This portion of the New Orleans Poetry Festival occurs in partnership with the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, and the Jefferson Parish Library. More events can be found at https://nolapoetry.com/

Ha Jaeyoun started her career in 2002 when she received the award for best new poet from the journal <문학과 사회Literature and Society>. She received a PhD in Modern Korean Literature from Korea University for her research in 1930’s Korean poetry. She also was the recipient of the 3rd Yeongnam-ilbo Ku Sang Literature prize.

She is the author of the poetry collections, 라디오 데이즈Radio Days, 세계의 모든 해변처럼 Like all the Beaches in the World, and <우주적인 안녕 Universal Hello. She is also the author of the research books 근대시의 모험과 움직이는 조선어 Adventures of Modern Poetry and Moving Chosun Language, 문학의 상상과 시의 실천 The Imagination of Literature and the Action of Poetry, 무한한 역설의 사랑 Infinite Love of Paradox and the collection of essays 내게 와 어두워진 빛들에게 To the darkened lights by the coming of me.

English translations of her poems appeared in Poems of Hwang Yuwon, Ha Jaeyoun, and Seo Dae-kyung (Edited & Introduced by Jake Levine). In addition, the poetry collection Radion days was published in English. After the pandemic started, she began a series of poems that she has been publishing called “언데드Undead.” and “종의 기원 The Origin of Species”.

Hwang Yuwon is a poet and translator. He is the author of four collections of poetry, White Deer Lake, Supernatural 3D Printing, You Should See Me in a Crown, and Everything in the World, Maximized. He translates poetry and novels from English to Korean. Among them are The Lyrics: 1961-2012 by Bob Dylan, Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, By the Sea by Abdulrazak Gurnah, Grief is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter, and Glass, Irony & God by Anne Carson.

Jake Levine is an assistant professor of Creative Writing at Keimyung University. He has written and translated or co-translated over a dozen books, including Kim Yideum’s Hysteria, the first book to be awarded both the National Translation Award and the Lucien Stryk Prize. He is a former Fulbright Fellow (Lithuania, 2010), a recipient of a Korean Government Scholarship, served as an assistant editor at Acta Koreana, as a poetry editor at Spork Press. He is the managing editor and editor-in-chief at Sonora Review, and currently edits the award-winning contemporary Korean poetry series, Moon Country, at Black Ocean. He has also translated other cultural contents such as Yun Hyong-Keun’s diaries and narration for the K-pop group ENHYPEN. His first full-length book of poetry The Imagined Country is out with Tolsun Books.

Rodrigo Toscano is a poet and essayist based in New Orleans. He is the author of 11 books of poetry. His latest two books are The Cut Point and The Charm & The Dread. His previous books include In Range, Explosion Rocks Springfield, Deck of Deeds, Collapsible Poetics Theater (a National Poetry Series selection), To Leveling Swerve, Platform, Partisans, and The Disparities. His poetry has appeared in more than 20 anthologies, including Best American Poetry and Best American Experimental Poetry. Toscano has received a New York State Fellowship in Poetry. He won the Edwin Markham 2019 prize for poetry. He works for the Labor Institute in conjunction with the United Steelworkers, the National Institute for Environmental Health Science, National Day Laborers Organizing Network educational / training projects that involve environmental and labor, justice and culture transformation.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Bernardo Wade tries at poems, catches elbows on the court, and rides his bike around Bloomington, Indiana, because IU funds his present period of studying with others. He currently serves as Editor & CNF Editor of Indiana Review. Though he’s published in a bunch of literary journals no one in his family has ever heard of, they remain proud of him, especially when they are featured in the poems. He's infatuated with Ed Roberson's question, "Can you O.D. on life?" Check out his website: bernardowade.com

Christine Kwon is the author of A Ribbon the Most Perfect Blue (Southeast Missouri State University Press, 2023). She is the winner of the 2022 Cowles Poetry Book Prize. Her poems are forthcoming in The Harvard Advocate, Copper Nickel, The Xavier Review, and Annulet. Follow her work on christinekwonwrites.com or on Instagram @theschooloflonging. She lives in a yellow house on Saint Roch.

For more information regarding this presentation, contact Chris Smith, Manager of Adult Programming, at (504) 889-8143 or wcsmith@jplibrary.net.