Poetry of the Last Korean Dynasty

Constantine Contogenis, co-editor of Brief Songs of the Kisang, poems written by Korean courtesans, will read and discuss the rare blend of emotional freedom, ironic perspective, and technical mastery of these little-known works. He will also present a new, usable theory of literary translation.

The kisang (sometimes called “skilled women”) were lower-class Korean women who were forced into artistic (and sometimes sexual) servitude to the 16^th and 17^th century Korean governments.