The Poet and the Poem with Grace Cavalieri

      Recorded by Library of Congress

          (Seo, Youn-Seok, Virginia)

On May 9^th, 2025, I was invited to this program by the poet laureate of Maryland, Grace Cavalieri.  As I recall my high school period, there was a great class on literature given by many famous teachers such as O-young Lee, Yonghak Chang, Dongwook Shin. Mr. Lee who used to live across from Hyochang Elementary School in my neighborhood, asked me to go to a publishing company to bring a check for his manuscript. I liked poetry, but I could not hang on to it for a living. Instead, I did write my diary for a while, but when I became a medical school student, I had to concentrate on studying and working for my tuition. I left my diary-book and my premedical course diploma at my older brother’s house when I immigrated to the US in 1972 and I do not know where those are. It must have a beautiful story in it. My first published writing was an essay on Korean Physician’s Newsletter in February 1968. I was requested to write it by an editor because I at the time led a social student organization, Gunwoo Society with my friend, the late Dr. Shill Shin. The next 40 years afterward I lived as a hard-working physician like most of my classmates. Although the Poet Jong-Gi Mah resided at Toledo, Ohio near Lima where I lived. When I saw him, I wondered why he wrote poems.

On 1995 I started writing essays with titles such as “Diamond Mount Trip”, “My Friends at Pebble beach”, and “My dear friends at Old Course at San Andrew” on my alumni newsletter, Sigetop.

At my age 65 after retirement from medicine, I published a book “Hello Doctor Seo” and I visited Seoul and purchased a monthly poetry magazine “Shimunhak” to check how they write poems nowadays. Afterward, I started writing poems. I was impressed with a new style of poetry, and I practiced in creating my own. One day my wife advised me to apply to an official admission process to be a new poet.  I agreed and sent my 10 poems as an applicant. On December 24, 2009, on my birthday I received great news from Poet Kyuwha Kim, the editor of Shimunhak and I became a poet. My 40 years of experience as an ENT physician helped my writing, and many poems were about life and death. The panel members for selecting poets were DukSoo Moon, Jaerung Park. Kyuwha Kim, Kyuho Shin and they praised my works on the basis of true experience rather than decorative language.

I would like to acknowledge my wife, Sunja, for encouraging me to apply. She graduated from Ewha Women University where she majored in literature. We married during my military service time when we were poor financially. After serving as a medical officer at the Korean army medical school, I served another year at a remote village where there was no electricity. I recall that she always read books even under dim light and had sent a letter to my mother once a month with a check for our parents for 30years till 2005 when my mother passed away at age 97. Also, my wife is very good at spelling, and she has been the first one who read my writing and gave me her opinion with some criticism.  But she never writes on her own.

15 years passed since I moved from Lima Ohio to Virginia. I served as an editorial member of Seoul Nation University alumni Newsletter in the US (2013-2015) and I served as the 44^th president of my medical school alumni association in North America (2015-2016). I have overseen editing newsletters on Sigetop till now for the last 10years. Also, I attended the activities of Korean literary society in Washington, International PEN Korea, and YundongJu literary society. I learned typing too. All my literary involvement stimulated me to write better. 

Several years ago, poet Hyunsook Park established English division of LSW and afterward Young-Key Kim Renaud led to publishing Song In A Second Language and many members participated including Yearn-Hong Choi, Sarh Song, Kwang Mi Lee, Han Hwangbo, Sukza Park, Ingee Kim, Lydia Im, Hea-ok Kang, Sam Se-Woong Ro, Haesun Jung Ravoke, Insook Kim, Me-Young Kim, Yong-Sil Kim. Meyoung Kim, Nayoung Seo, Young-Key Kim Renaud. Hyun Park-Han, and Youn-Seok Seo. For this book, Poet Grace Cavalieri previewed and made comment, <Voice as A Bridge>.

Last Feb 15, 2025, at the St. Johns College, Annapolis Maryland we had book signing

session after presentations by Dr. Han Hwangbo, Dr. Kwang Mi Lee, and Professor Young-Key Kim Renaud led by Maryland poet laureate Grace Cavalieri.

On Marh 15, 2025, poet Grace Cavalieri invited Professor Young-Key Kim Renaud for a recording at recording room in the US Library of Congress on her English poems and reading. This was the first time any Korean born person did a reading for this program. In the past 2003, as a memorial event of 100 years immigration of Korean to America, Yearn-Hong Choi and Haeng-Ja Kim read their poems on Korean but English version were read by American and Kwi-Soon Kwon read a poem, “Sea gull” of poet Namsu Park in Korean.

In April I was surprised and excited to receive an invitation from the program The Poet and the Poem presented by Grace Cavalieri over many years. That visual recording will be done by the US Library of Congress, and I had to read eight of my English poems and Grace Cavalieri will be in the talks together in remotely. It will be on Podcast like her other many previous programs. For me It was 15 years after I started writing poems and 53years after I came to the US. I had to prepare for this appearance. For 38 years from 1972, I was around English-speaking people but the last 15 years since I retired from medicine and I am almost only around Koreans. I had to refresh my English to do a good job for my reading. I raised the volume of computer to avoid any hearing mistakes and read only English books as much as possible. I opened many of her previous records and reviewed how other poets did it.  Language, we must use it often, otherwise you will lose the skill. I stopped the all other telephone lines for two hours to keep quiet for recording and cleaned the desk and prepared the background and got a cup of water. I asked my wife to go to another room to prevent any noise of coughing, sneezing, particularly dish washing sound. I dressed in formal clothes and put on a bright color necktie and waited in front of the table at 1pm, May 9^th, 2025.

Finally, Grace Cavalieri and Mike T from Library appeared and he said hello and moved

out to the recording room and my reading and our conversation started and lasted for 35minutes.  She was a 93-year-old brilliant poet and playwright and radio host of the Library of Congress. She was very humorous, compassionate and very impressive. Our recording went very well. The first poem that I presented was titled “Gracious Maria” and I read it in both English and Korean and the rest of poems I read in English.

The last one was ‘the most beautiful couple’s dance’ which was written during the medical convention dinner. Eight poems were sent to her 2 weeks prior to the reading and most of them were from my poetry book Callous Clouds which was accepted by US Library of Congress 2 years ago.

I shared several of my poems that day including “Letter to Children of Ukraine”, “Oyster”, “I cannot move my body”, “Thinking Woods, and “Sobbing”. I had talk about Korean War, Vietnam War, anatomy class, and the skull of 16 years old girl. I had a chance to explain about the great mission by the US government and University of Minnesota to help poor Korea after the Korean War 1955-1960 prior to this presentation by mail. We were happy to have this opportunity to present Korean alphabet, Han Gull to an American audience.

I am so honored to participate in this great visual recording of poetry reading. It was the first time for a Korean immigrant to the US. I sent my appreciation letter to her with the recent medical school alumni publications and Sigetop newsletter with limited comments in English.

My Dream

It must be a dream in a miracle

It started with the soft rain last February

At St. John’s College

Beautiful campus, and library

And full of lovely presentations

Yes, I was an eight-year-old poor child, in 1950

During the Korean War

I had no shoes, 74years ago

Here I am a poet, in 2025

In the United State of America

Presenting my poetry for this distinguished program

The Poet and the Poem

Hosted by the Great Poet, Grace Cavalieri

The poet I admire

It must be a dream in a miracle

I am blessed

There is no other explanation for this fact

What the power of Love, Humanity and the Art of poetry are!

I am still in a dream, a happy dream

With my sincere appreciation

May 10^th, 2025,   Youn Seok Seo