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"Somehow we merely assumed our immersion in poetry, true poetry, would benefit our work as well as magically benefit us, our lives, our characters, our sense of self." 
                  —Philip Levine
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one hundred days

I Used To Be Korean 

Poet's Blog

I Am Still Korean

many days later
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Hello and thanks for checking in. 

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As a poet who is often alone in the wonderful yet arduous task of writing, I am happy to have your company.  I am a working poet and writer, open to readings, panels, workshops, and other collaborations. 

 

I have had the pleasure of being on panels and Zooms to talk about my work and writing in general.  Some memorable appearances to date have been AWP in Philly, the Irish Hunger Memorial at Battery Park City, and the Indie Book Fair at the PEN World Voices Festival in Washington Square Park.  I have also read my work at the Brooklyn Public Library, KGB Bar, Pace University and York College/CUNY.   

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Most recently, my second book of poems, I Used To Be Korean, was featured on Amerie's Book Club.  A true honor to be among a roster of such compelling writers and poets. 

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I hope you will check out my Blog page to stay connected to current/upcoming events and projects I'm working on.

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Sending you all good vibes and wishes on your writing endeavors. 

 

Let's live poetry, y'all!

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Jiwon 

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"One of the joys of Jiwon Choi's poems is that her acerbic wit, rather than limiting experience and shutting down inquiry, instead evokes the riddle of our complex, contradictory human selves."

Joan Larkin

Kudos

"jiwon choi's  i used to be korean.. is   fusion / fusion    of memory both   real and not /  verbal snapshots   and within those  snapshots  /  she sees  what the  rest  don't—or  may not  care   to  see. / the  bias  of  the world / the need  for  human contact  both  funny  and  Brutal .  oh   SHE  IS Korean / family is  here / strangers are  here / first loves // the angst  of  childhood / and  the HUMAN commonality and a lot more ..  she   is both participant  and chronicler  .. her words / hug  / ripple  / stick  to the page and bend  the mind .....I Used To Be Korean is simply  WONDERFUL..

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Dael Orlandersmith

"[Choi's] work is propelled by New York immigrant energy, which of course makes it quintessentially American.”

Terence Winch

Books by Jiwon Choi 

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