Sijo, a 700-year-old Korean poetry form, is flourishing in modern-day poetry circles. Writers around the world are composing and publishing sijo, teaching it to classes, and competing with it for prizes. With only three lines, and 46 syllables, how much can a poet fit within its confines? The answer is a world of story and emotion! In SIJO: Korea’s Poetry Form, Sejong Cultural Society’s executive director Lucy Park and writer and educator Elizabeth Jorgensen create a primer for the poet. Written in three sections, their book presents the history of sijo, sample lessons for those teaching sijo, and a chapter of modern award-winning poems with critiques by the experts. With artwork by Wonsook Kim and contributions from sijo experts including David McCann, Mark Peterson, Seong-Kon Kim, Linda Sue Park, and Kwan-ho Seo, SIJO: Korea’s Poetry Form offers unparalleled instruction and advice on studying, teaching and writing sijo.
Lucy Park
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Elizabeth Jorgensen
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1 The Sijo and Performance David McCann 3
2 Korean Sijo, Chinese Jueju, and Japanese Haiku Mark Peterson 15
3 Sijo in the USA Lucy Park 25
4 Contemporary Sijo Poets in Korea and North America Lucy Park 33
5 Sijo Written in Other Languages Lucy Park 63
6 Sijo and Music Lucy Park 77
7 Cultural Dimension in Sijo Translation and Variations of Sijo Format Seong-Kon Kim 93
8 Sijo Makes You Smarter Linda Sue Park 101
PART II
Sijo Lesson Plans
1 Sijo in an American Classroom: Writing, Editing, Working Virtually and In-Person Elizabeth Jorgensen 111
2 Sijo Lesson Plan for Elementary School Students Elizabeth Jorgensen 141
3 Sijo: Why Teaching Korean Poetry Matters in a History Class Deborah Holland 147
4 Reading and Writing Sijo Tracy Kaminer 155
5 Writing Haiku and Sijo: Two East Asian Poetry Forms Chuck Newell 165
6 Sijo Teaching Guide for Children Seo Kwan-ho (Adapted by Lucy Park) 171
PART III
My Favorite Sijo
Drawings by Wonsook Kim
1 Dreams on a Lake Michael Chung (2008) David McCann 189
2 Untitled Creasy Clauser (2009) David McCann 191
3 Secret Song Taylor Edwards (2009) David McCann 193
4 Sijo Sijo Alex Griffin (2011) Molly Gaudry 195
5 I Have Heard Hollister Rhone (2012) Emily Yoon 197
6 Still American Roberto Santos (2013) Mary Connor and Elgin-Bokari T. Smith 200
7 Untitled Hapshiba Kwon (2014) Lee Herrick and Ivanna Yi 203
8 Overcoming the Limitations Zion Kim (2015) Joonok Huh 206
9 Emma Austin Snell (2016) Mark Peterson 210
10 The Sanctuary Bella Dalton-Fenkl (2016) Lucy Park 213
11 Back in New Orleans Dante Kirkman (2016) Lucy Park 215
12 Untitled Clint Gersabeck (2017) Chuck Newell 218
13 Untitled Aidan Boyle (2017) Deb Holland 220
14 Season That Never Comes Bryce Toussaint (2018) Elizabeth Jorgensen 222
15 Belated Breakfast Toni Smith (2018) Elizabeth Jorgensen 225
16 Abandoned Lily Daniels (2019) David Krolikoski 227
17 A Kisaeng’s Sijo Hye In Lee (2019) Elizabeth Jorgensen 230
18 Lost Letters Andy Zhao (2020) Mark Peterson 234
19 Untitled Alice Davidson (2020) Mark Peterson 236
20 Social Distancing Julie Shute (2020) Nick Chiarkas 238
21 Coming home Trace Morrissey (2020) Seong-Kon Kim 240
22 In Middle School Esther Kim (2020) Seong-Kon Kim 243
23 but today, I hear Hannah Kim (2020) Robert Yune and Christine Hyung-Oak Lee 246
24 Nature Walk Jeffrey Bolognese (2020) Tracy Kaminer 249
Contributors 253
Index of Poems 259
References 269