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Greetings.<br>
<br>
I am looking at an English translation of a poem by Yi Sang entitled
<i><b>1931</b></i>.<br>
<br>
This translation appears in <i>Crow's Eye View: The Infamy of Lee
Sang, Korean Poet</i> by Myong-Hee Kim on pages 52-53.<br>
<br>
I am trying to find the original Korean of this text, which I
assumed would appear in the poetry text of the multi-volume
complete works. I used to have the green one from Moonhak Sangsa sa
which suddenly I can not find, but I also have the new edition (the
one with the white cover) of 이상 전집 1 시 from 문학에디션 뿔.<br>
<br>
This text should be from Yi Sangs "chibi" series. Yet I cannot find
this poem anywhere in this book, which is odd since I presume that
this is newer and more complete than the Moonhak Sangsa sa edition
and should is a good complete collection of Yi Sang's poems. (?).<br>
<br>
I would like to check the translations as well as verify there are
other sections to this text. Perhaps it is best if I simply
reproduce the translation I have in front of me.<br>
<br>
<b>1931</b><br>
<br>
I.<br>
My lung was having appendicitis. I was admitted to the Fourth
Hospital. The doctor had been stolen, rumor has it he was exiled.<br>
I saw the butterfly that stayed out past its season. Obtained a
nurse doll. Made a faults appendix, placed it behind thing glass to
make a counter point. Tried all the best home remedies. In all due
course, the stomach went bad, the face turned pale. Anemic.<br>
<br>
II.<br>
No one knew where the heart was located. Some said it was in the
stomach, others said chest. Opinions proliferated beyond control.<br>
A quantity of blood was lost. Analysis show the contents of my
blood to be a mixture of inorganic substances.<br>
Discharged. A great memorial shaft was erected to the white
youth. I collapsed from heart failure before it.<br>
<br>
VII.<br>
Because I stood upside down on the Earth, I was beaten up by the
members of the Third International Party. For that reason I was
tossed into the sky in an unmanned airplane. They laughed at my
cruel punishment. At that moment I was afforded the opportunity to
inspect behind the scene of the Earth's finance scheme in great
detail.<br>
<br>
X.<br>
Suddenly, the clock in my room struck 13. At that moment, the
bell that announces a special edition rang announcing my escape from
prison.<br>
Suffering from insomnia and narcolepsy, I am stuck in the middle
between right and left.<br>
Towards my interior, the monument of my virtue, crumbling,
collapses. Serious injury. The world reports and error:<br>
12+1=13. From that day forward, my clock had three hands.<br>
<br>
<br>
Additionally…. I am curious to source the opening text from this
volume of translations. I am going to guess that this is in one of
the other volumes (stories or essays) of the Moonhak Sangsa sa?
While I am typing up a storm I might as well reproduce this as well:<br>
<br>
<b>Self-Portrait</b><br>
<br>
I have no idea where this is. There is terrain, a land passed on
from time immemorial. This is a wasteland. There is the pyramid-like
nose. Holes through which the infinite comes and goes. The air
never fades. It is the same air breathed by my ancestors, by my past
lives. The sky-ingrained eyes reveal the brief frame of an age-old
phantom. No memories have been bequeathed. The clutter of
civilization passes by the ears, wornout worlds on an old tombstone.
Someone said this is a deathmask. Someone else said the death mask
has been stolen. Like frost, death forms. The beard won't grow, it
grows course like dried grass, and the mouth cries out loud as the
weather changes —like a water spout.<br>
<br>
Anyone recognize either of these texts? Apologies for the very long
post.<br>
<br>
Best,<br>
Kevin Parks<br>
<br>
PS. Anyone have any thoughts on these Yi Editions? The Moonhak
Sangsa sa -vs- the Moonhak Edition BBul? I'll be back in Seoul in a
couple weeks and wonder if I should try to get find a store that has
the old Moonhak Sangsa sa edition, or if this new edition is just
arranged differently. I guess these poems are public domain and that
the Moonhak Edition BBul is just another edition, not meant to
supersede the Moonhak Sangsa sa edition? I know that Yi Sang poems
are still coming to light from various sources.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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