Poetry Unbound Suji Kwock Kim — Search Engine: Notes from the North Korean-Chinese-Russian Border
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Feb 5, 2024 Poet and playwright Suji Kwock Kim discusses her poem about the North Korean-Chinese-Russian border, reflecting on memory, loss, and identity. The podcast explores the impact of borders on people's lives and the power of language and art in expressing experiences. It delves into the speaker's search for a lost grandfather and the convergence of past and present.
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Family Separation
- Suji Kwock Kim's family, originally from North Korea, lived near the Chinese-Russian border, making escape during wartime difficult.
- Her father last saw his own father at age ten, inspiring Kim's poem about fractured families.
Poem as Search Engine
- Kim's poem, addressed to her unknown grandfather, is a plea to undo the past and reclaim what might have been.
- Though acknowledging the impossibility of this request, the poem acts as a "search engine" for connection.
Borders and Time
- The poem's focus on borders—both physical and internal—explores how the politicization of land disrupts the experience of time.
- Referencing Grünbein's "strip of land became a hole in time," the poem highlights time's chaotic nature amidst enforced borders.