The Poet
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The Poet
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See moreExperience a BRIEF ENCOUNTER with Yi Mun-yol, one of Korea's greatest modern writers, in this haunting portrait of a wandering poet torn between art, poverty, and destiny.
The life of a poet becomes a parable of hope in Yi Mun-yol's searching novella of art, status, and selfhood.
With their family condemned as traitors, two young brothers are sent away in disguise to save their lives. One grows up by his wits, accepting what has been lost. The other is set on a different path, shaped by a determination to restore the family's place in the world. As he wanders in search of recognition as a poet, ambition and survival begin to pull him in opposing directions.
BRIEF ENCOUNTERS: classic novellas and captivating stories, to be read in a single sitting or savoured over days.
Series: Brief Encounters
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INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781529986112
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 02 July 2026
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Vintage Classics
Contributors:
- Translated by Brother Anthony Teague Teague
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 12.0mm
Width: 130.0mm
Height: 197.0mm
Weight: 148g
Pages: 176
About the Author
Yi Mun-Yol was born in 1948. During the Korean War (1950-3), his father supported the North Korea side for ideological reasons and went to live in the North, leaving his family in the South. In his youth, Yi Mun-Yol had to bear the stigma of being a 'traitor's son'. With more than 30 books published and sales totalling many millions of copies, Yi Mun-Yol is Korea's leading novelist. The Poet, his most signficant novel, has been translated into all the major western languages.
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