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Poet Yoon Suha Publishes Third Poetry Collection 'Breath Within Breath'

  • 전북대학교
  • 2024-03-07
  • 조회수 109
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Yoon Suha, a poet and lecturer in the Department of Korean Language & Literature at Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) (President Yang Oh‑bong), has published her third poetry collection, Breath Within Breath (Cheonnyeon-ui Sijak · Sijak Poets Series 495, 11,000 won). 


This collection contains works that express Yoon's insights into life and guide readers on a journey of body, mind, and the universe. The themes in the volume are the boundaries of time and space and the confrontation with inner suffering. Through her poems, Yoon Suha seeks to face the pains encountered in life and to pursue recovery and overcoming within them. 

Yoon Suha's notion of the "breath within breath," as literary critic Hyun Sun‑young observes, may be "one way to lessen life's suffering by objectifying it—understanding life as an exchange of molecules or atoms between oneself and all things." 


We require oxygen (O2) at every living moment to survive, yet we do not consider oxygen as the molecules that constitute the atmosphere. It simply always exists. However, when the poet's clear eye examines what seems obvious in detail, it becomes apparent that nothing that exists came about easily. Through her poetry, Yoon seems to say, "Observe the constituent materials of a being under a microscope. Instead of a splendid total, you will see its pain, its frustrations, its desires, its meanness, and its wounds." 


In particular, this collection reflects her experience teaching poetry writing to patients at a psychiatric hospital. Through those patients with wounded souls, the poet prompts readers to consider the act of embracing life and the preciousness of 'continuing—living again.'


Poet Byun Jong‑tae commented, "The poet encountered in the collection Breath Within Breath depicts subjects with a composed, seemingly detached manner and at times in a cynical tone, but warmth is contained within. In a reality where the world's warmth is cooling, the poet's tender gaze toward the paths traveled, discarded objects, and marginalized neighbors will continue to warm the heart long after the book is closed."


Yoon Suha said, "With this collection I wanted to convey that humans resemble the universe, and therefore every life is precious. I hope this book helps readers realize the value of existence and becomes a clue for emptying and filling the heart."


She is currently a lecturer in the Department of Korean Language & Literature at JBNU. Her publications include the poetry collections Gap (2014) and The Sound of a Heart Without Lips (2018), and the scholarly work Yi Sang's Poetry, Roaming Artistic Media (2016).



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