The Space Poetry Reading Society
Literature may often be associated with the printed page, but poetry transcends both medium and time. At its core, poetry is a song, brought to life through sound rather than text. Its meaning emerges through voice, breath and emotion, making every recitation unique. I was reminded of this after attending recently monthly meeting of Space Poetry Reading Society in Seoul, the longest and…
The Space Poetry Reading Society, a prominent poetry recital group in Korea, was born from a unique blend of performance and literary appreciation. Its origins trace back to the early 1970s when Ku Sang, a renowned poet teaching at the University of Hawaii, encountered poetry recitations accompanied by live music and commentary in a San Francisco artists' cafe.
This inspiring experience led him to establish a similar forum in Korea upon his return. The society, one of the longest and most distinguished of its kind in Korea, has been meeting monthly since the 1970s. These gatherings took place in Seoul's Myeong-dong and Jongno tea houses and taverns, where audiences once gathered to experience poems as living performances rather than merely words on a page.
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- The Space Poetry Reading Society koreatimes.co.kr
