Description
Book SynopsisThough North Korea holds the attention of the world, it is still rare for us to hear North Korean voices, beyond those few who have escaped. Known only by his pen name, the poet and author ‘Bandi’ stands as one of the most distinctive and original dissident writers to emerge from the country, and his work is all the more striking for the fact that he continues to reside in North Korea, writing in secret, with his work smuggled out of the country by supporters and relatives.
The Red Years represents the first collection of Bandi’s poetry to be made available in English. As he did in his first work
The Accusation, Bandi here gives us a rare glimpse into everyday life and survival in North Korea. Singularly poignant and evocative,
The Red Years stands as a testament to the power of the human spirit to endure and resist even the most repressive of regimes.
Trade ReviewAs a collection of poems by an anonymous North Korean dissident sees the light here for the first time, Katie Law learns the extraordinary story of how he risked his life to smuggle his work out of the country ... The Red Years, a slim volume of 51 short poems, makes for pretty depressing reading, the brutality of life under Kim Il-sung and his son Kim Jong-il expressed even more crudely than in the stories. * Evening Standard *
In 'The Red Years', we are shown the possibility of this kind of communal solidarity persisting. The collection, then, is a fragment of this private enclave – the ardent defense of an interiority unbroken by propaganda. * NK News *
Powerful insights into a world behind walls. * Praise for Bandi’s The Accusation, Guardian *
Courageous and confounding ... It's a quiet privilege to be given access to the voiceless by listening to such vivid and uncompromised storytelling. * Praise for Bandi’s The Accusation, New Statesman *
A fierce indictment of life in the totalitarian North. * Praise for Bandi’s The Accusation, New York Times *
Spare, direct, unflinching and bitterly angry. * Praise for Bandi’s The Accusation, Observer *
Bandi [presents] a world in which North Koreans are nuanced: broken-hearted, idealistic, still full of life. * Praise for Bandi’s The Accusation, Times Literary Supplement *
Its very existence is still a hopeful symbol that change is inevitable, if not imminent. * Praise for Bandi’s The Accusation, Vice *
Fascinating and chilling. Heartfelt and heartbreaking. * Praise for Bandi’s The Accusation, Margaret Atwood *
Table of ContentsPreface Poem 1. Barren Earth A New Arirang for the North Green Leaves, Falling Blizzard Bloody Fall A Maiden’s Window Song of the Fire Swallows Chajabi (The Hitchhiker) Ugly, White Snow The Mill on the Mountain New Seongcheon Station 2. Exhausted Heart Song of the Red People Roundabout Blues Toads No Ingredients Blues Idol 50 Years of Red Five Thieves Blues Stepmother The Song of Kim Juseok Heartsick Red Locomotive Night at the Military Camp Affliction in the Red House 3. Longing for You, My Love One Heart Long, Long Winter Nights Ah! KBS Educational Channel My Love How Much I Love You Please Deliver Just This Blow, South Wind This Lonely Life I Awaited You, My Love 4. Attached to a Life Youth is a Forking Road O Azaleas Song of Life Pine Trees Thoughts of Mother Woman of Pure Love Oak Tree in Winter A Man Your Lover 5. Wishes Bandi (Firefly) Landscape White with Snow Why I Love Wildflowers Me for Myself The Whistling Man Today The World Where People Live Open-minded Life Sow Love, Reap Love A Dream Afterword: Bandi’s Dream - Do Hee-yun
