Friday, May 28, 2021 | 5:30PM to 7PM
Poet Tanya Ko Hong will read from her latest book of poems, The War Still Within: Poems of the Korean Diaspora (Kyso Flash, 2019). Dedicated to “all the women everywhere who have lost their names,” this book celebrates the courage of women to speak their truth and acknowledges the suffering of those who never could. Part historical imagining of Japan’s so-called “comfort women” during World War II, part personal claiming of her own experiences with immigration and motherhood, and part exploration of identity across two languages, The War Still Within weaves together two cultures and gives voice to generations of Korean and Korean-American women. The book is a recent recipient of the 10th Ko Won’s Literary Award.
“Tanya Ko Hong captures in these spare, elegant poems, a world of cruelty, suffering, and survival. Here is beauty juxtaposed with pain so deep it’s almost impossible to put into words. And yet this fine poet does just that. She breaks our hearts with the truth and astonishes us with her compassion.” —Ellen Bass, Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets
URL: www.tanyakohong.com
