Song Chanho (, born 1959) is a South Korean poet.
Life Song Chanho was born in Boeun County, North Chungcheong Province, South Korea in 1959. He studied German language and literature at Kyungpook National University. His writing career began in 1987 when several of his poems, including "Geumho River" (), were published in the literary journal Literature of Our Age.Ha Jaeyun. "The Creation and Transformation of Mythical Imagination in Contemporary Poetry." Korean Literary Theory and Criticism: Summer 2014. 하재연, ｢현대시에 나타난 신화적 상상력의 창조와 변용｣, 『한국문학이론과 비평』 여름호, 2014. Song published his first poetry collection, The Soil Has the Memory of a Square (, 1989) two years later.Park Hyegyeong. "Poetry, Words Floating in the Air." Literature and Society: Spring 2000. 박혜경, ｢시, 허공 중에 떠 있는 말｣, 『문학과사회』 봄호, 2000.Ki Changhwan. "The Spirit and Evanescence of Humanized Nature." Literature and Society: Summer 2009. 김창환, ｢인간화된 자연의 예기와 덧없음｣, 『문학과사회』 여름호, 2009.
Song won the thirteenth Dongsuh Literary Award and nineteenth Kim Su-yeong Literary Award, both in 2000. He has also received the Daesan Literary Award (2009) and the Yi Sang Literary Award (2010).
Writing Song Chanho's style of writing is experimental lyric poetry. His first poetry collection, The Soil Has the Memory of a Square (, 1989) centred around the image of a square with no exit as a metaphor for life and death. His second poetry collection, The Chair That Remained Empty for Ten Years (, 1994), similarly focused on contrasting opposites, with more emphasis on the use of language.Yi Gyeongho. "Scarce 'Rice' at the End of the Century." Literature and Society: Spring 1995. 이경호, ｢궁핍한 세기말의 '밥'｣, 『문학과사회』 봄호, 1995. Song Chanho also frequently uses nature imagery to convey meaning, such as in Red Eyes, Camellia (, 2000).Gwon Gyeongah. "The Elephant Is Going." Poetry and World: Spring 2010. 권경아, ｢코끼리가 간다｣, 『시와세계』 봄호, 2010. More recent works, such as The Night of the Cat's Return (, 2009),Sin Beomsun. "A Cat's Philosophical Fairy Tale." In The Night of the Cat's Return: Moonji, 2009. 신범순, ｢고양이의 철학 동화｣, 『고양이가 돌아오는 저녁』, 문학과지성사, 2009. have more explicitly criticized society and civilization in general.
Of Song's fifth poetry collection, Pink Wooden Shoes (, 2016),Yi Jaebok. "The Discovery of Symbols and Restoration of Beauty." In Pink Wooden Shoes: Moonji, 2016. 이재복, ｢상징의 발견과 미의 복원｣, 『분홍 나막신』, 문학과지성사, 2016. literary critic Yi Jae-bok wrote that Song's poetry had "a classical elegance as the result of his deep reflection on language and existence." Several of Song's poems and one of his poetry collections have been translated into English.
Works Works in Korean (partial) The Soil Has the Memory of a Square (, 1989) The Chair That Remained Empty for Ten Years (, 1994) Red Eyes, Camellia (, 2000) The Night of the Cat's Return (, 2009) Pink Wooden Shoes (, 2016) Like a Goose Going To Play in the Aster Fields (, 2016)
Works in translation The Night of the Cat's Return AZALEA: Journal of Korean Literature and Culture (Volume One) Douze poètes coréens contemporains
Awards 2000: 13th Dongsuh Literary Award 2000: 19th Kim Suyeong Literary Award 2008: 8th Midang Literary Award 2009: 17th Daesan Literary Award 2010: 3rd Yi Sang Literary Award
External links 소금 창고 "Salt Storage." 송찬호 시인이 말하는 나의 시세계 특강 "Poet Song Chanho's Talk on His Poetry."
References