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A review by veronikav
Yi Sang: Selected Works by Yi Sang
challenging
emotional
reflective
5.0
"I force the folded razor into myself, and suppress my pain, when suddenly its blade opens and grazes me. I bleed internally. However, I have nothing to cut my flesh open; there is no way for my evil spirit to escape. My body gets heavier because of my imprisoned suicide.
(p. 52, "Drowning")
First of all I will begin by reviewing the poetry section. As with most modernist poetry it is at first hard to get into - the rhythm of it feels different than the rigid structure you might be used to and the themes and words are much more loosely distributed. Amusing yet sad is the reaction from his contemporary readers "Stop this madman's ravings" to which Yi Sang then responded in a justifiedly melodramatic letter. However these madman's ravings are incredibly compelling and well-written. Everything about his poems is very deliberate even as he uses word-play and formatting. The common themes in his poems that repeat all over again - sickness, suicide, mirror and legacy - all repeat in such a way that make a bigger picture when read together.
THINKING ABOUT THOSE LONELY FIELDS
THINKING ABOUT THAT LONELY DAY OF SNOW
I AM NOT THINKING ABOUT MY SKIN
I AM A RIGID BODY AGAINST MEMORY
(p. 90, "Fragment Scenery")
Yi Sang's Japanese poems then represent a more mathematical, experimental mode of poetry (which might in part be due to how it is stylized). A wonderful translation by Sawako Nakayasu helps facilitate as close of an experience as possible to reading the original.
My worrying is bigger than the world that erases me. When I open the floodgates, the tides of my worrying percolate through my ruined body. However, I have not yet pulled open my masochistic bottle cap. My worrying engulfs me, and, meanwhile, my body withers away as if the wind and the rain are whittling at it.
(p. 131, "A Journey Into the Mountain Village
If Yi Sang's poetry gives us a vague caricature of themes that are important to his life, his essays are the mirror upon which liquid silver is poured. In his essays you can recognize the themes of his poetry and vice versa. In 'A Journey Into the Mountain Village' we witness a depressing yet humorous look at Yi Sang's trip to the countryside. This is continued in 'Ennui' a summary of a boring day drenched in ennui. My favorite essay 'After Sickbed' uses third person to paint a feverish picture of Yi Sang during the days of his sickness. In 'Sad Story' Yi Sang poetically describes the circumstances of his plan to commit double suicide with his lover. (The circumstances of which are later explained upon in 'True Story - Lost Flower'.) 'A Letter to my Sister' betrays a very progressive attitude towards women's rights and emancipation while at the same time standing witness to Yi Sang's guilt as an unfilial son. And lastly in 'Tokyo' we get to discover the city through the eyes of Yi Sang.
(...) want to know why I haven't killed myself? Ha! It's my habit to recommend suicide only to others. I won't kill myself. I act as if I will sometime soon, but I betray everyone's expectations. Oh - but it's no use anymore.
(p. 216, "True Story - Lost Flower")
The last part of the book holds two translated short stories. The first one is Spider&SpiderMeetPigs where we can clearly see a parallel to Yi Sang's real life. In this chaotic piece of prose the protagonist lives his life hidden away in his house while his wife provides for him by working as a sex worker. He describes his wife as a spider; then in turn describes himself as a spider, acknowledging the complicated relationship he has with his wife. This woman who is being used not only by him (willingly) but by the 'pigs' is someone he wants to protect and abandon at the same time. It shows a strong disillusionment with the relationship. The second short story is True Story - Lost Flower in which short snippets of Yi Sang's life are presented next to each other. It offers a good closure to what all you've read so far.
Genuinely enjoyed my read, great translations and very interesting prefaces.
(p. 52, "Drowning")
First of all I will begin by reviewing the poetry section. As with most modernist poetry it is at first hard to get into - the rhythm of it feels different than the rigid structure you might be used to and the themes and words are much more loosely distributed. Amusing yet sad is the reaction from his contemporary readers "Stop this madman's ravings" to which Yi Sang then responded in a justifiedly melodramatic letter. However these madman's ravings are incredibly compelling and well-written. Everything about his poems is very deliberate even as he uses word-play and formatting. The common themes in his poems that repeat all over again - sickness, suicide, mirror and legacy - all repeat in such a way that make a bigger picture when read together.
THINKING ABOUT THOSE LONELY FIELDS
THINKING ABOUT THAT LONELY DAY OF SNOW
I AM NOT THINKING ABOUT MY SKIN
I AM A RIGID BODY AGAINST MEMORY
(p. 90, "Fragment Scenery")
Yi Sang's Japanese poems then represent a more mathematical, experimental mode of poetry (which might in part be due to how it is stylized). A wonderful translation by Sawako Nakayasu helps facilitate as close of an experience as possible to reading the original.
My worrying is bigger than the world that erases me. When I open the floodgates, the tides of my worrying percolate through my ruined body. However, I have not yet pulled open my masochistic bottle cap. My worrying engulfs me, and, meanwhile, my body withers away as if the wind and the rain are whittling at it.
(p. 131, "A Journey Into the Mountain Village
If Yi Sang's poetry gives us a vague caricature of themes that are important to his life, his essays are the mirror upon which liquid silver is poured. In his essays you can recognize the themes of his poetry and vice versa. In 'A Journey Into the Mountain Village' we witness a depressing yet humorous look at Yi Sang's trip to the countryside. This is continued in 'Ennui' a summary of a boring day drenched in ennui. My favorite essay 'After Sickbed' uses third person to paint a feverish picture of Yi Sang during the days of his sickness. In 'Sad Story' Yi Sang poetically describes the circumstances of his plan to commit double suicide with his lover. (The circumstances of which are later explained upon in 'True Story - Lost Flower'.) 'A Letter to my Sister' betrays a very progressive attitude towards women's rights and emancipation while at the same time standing witness to Yi Sang's guilt as an unfilial son. And lastly in 'Tokyo' we get to discover the city through the eyes of Yi Sang.
(...) want to know why I haven't killed myself? Ha! It's my habit to recommend suicide only to others. I won't kill myself. I act as if I will sometime soon, but I betray everyone's expectations. Oh - but it's no use anymore.
(p. 216, "True Story - Lost Flower")
The last part of the book holds two translated short stories. The first one is Spider&SpiderMeetPigs where we can clearly see a parallel to Yi Sang's real life. In this chaotic piece of prose the protagonist lives his life hidden away in his house while his wife provides for him by working as a sex worker. He describes his wife as a spider; then in turn describes himself as a spider, acknowledging the complicated relationship he has with his wife. This woman who is being used not only by him (willingly) but by the 'pigs' is someone he wants to protect and abandon at the same time. It shows a strong disillusionment with the relationship. The second short story is True Story - Lost Flower in which short snippets of Yi Sang's life are presented next to each other. It offers a good closure to what all you've read so far.
Genuinely enjoyed my read, great translations and very interesting prefaces.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts