[KS] query

[SusanKKim at cs.com]

Dear Korean Studies Listserv,

My name is Suji Kwock Kim,  and I'm currently a Ph.D. student in English at 
Berkeley,  soon to be an assistant prof at Drew University.  My first book of 
poems,  NOTES FROM THE DIVIDED COUNTRY,  won this year's Walt Whitman Award 
from the Academy of American Poets,  and will be published in April 2003.  
(There's more information at www.poets.org/skkim).  I think I'm the first 
Asian-American to win this,  the largest first-book poetry award in the 
country,  let alone the first Korean-American.

My query is this:  I have to come up with cover ideas as soon as possible,  
but being a non-visual person,  I have very little knowledge of Korean art,  
graphics,  etc.  People warn me that if I don't color-xerox or describe 
extremely specific images to the designer,  then there's a great risk that 
they'll choose something Orientalist.

First of all:  could anyone please recommend books where I might be able to 
find images appropriate for a book cover,  especially books I can locate in 
San Francisco or Berkeley?  These can include books of maps and black & white 
war photographs,  as well as fine arts. 

I already have the following 5 books:  1) the National Museum of Korea 
catalog,  2) Korean Art and Design (HarperCollins),  3) Koreana's Korean 
Cultural Heritage Volume I: Fine Arts,  4) Korean Art:  100 Masterpieces,  
and 5) 5000 Years of Korean Art,  which has a gold Shilla crown on the cover. 
 

Second,  if anyone can recommend specific images,  that would be wonderful. 
The book's four sections are about [1] family [2] war [3] love [4] seeing 
nature (sparrows,  a Korean community garden in Queens) and art (Giacometti 
sculpture,  a Korean robe,  hanji.)  

People can contact me directly via email or fax (415) 824-4323***,  to avoid 
clogging up the listserv,  unless you think your information might benefit a 
wider audience.

With deepest thanks,
Suji Kwock Kim



Third,  does the Asian American Studies/ Ethnic Studies department ever set 
up readings?  I could read with someone else in April or May --- say Marilyn, 
 if she comes back for her paperback edition,  or Maxine Hong Kingston,  
since she'll have 2 new books out,  or Garrett Hongo,  etc.  (I'm reading at 
Stanford on May 13,  introduced by the new head of the NEA,  Dana Gioia.)

I'd also love to meet with you sometime and talk,  perhaps in early December 
or January.  (I have to work on the manuscript until 11/30.)

Cheers,  Sue

P.S. My phone # is (415) 824-4323,  and my fax is (415) 824-4323***