I Thought, That Day I Started, I

Ko Un's Poems Evoke The Open Creativity And Fluidity Of Nature, And Funny Turns And Twists Of Mind. Mind Is Sometimes Registered In Buddhist Terms - Buddhist Practice Being Part Of Ko Un's Background. Ko Un Writes Spare, Short-line Lyrics Direct To The Point, But Often Intricate In Both Wit And Meaning. Ko Un Has Now Traveled Worldwide And Is Not Only A Major Spokesman For All Korean Culture, But A Voice For Planet Earth Watershed As Well.

As A Poet I Hold The Most Archaic Values On Earth . . . The Fertility Of The Soil, The Magic Of Animals, The Power-vision In Solitude, The Terrifying Initiation And Rebirth, The Love And Ecstasy Of The Dance, The Common Work Of The Tribe. I Try To Hold Both History And The Wilderness In Mind, That My Poems May Approach The True Measure Of Things And Stand Against The Unbalance And Ignorance Of Our Times.

All That We Did Was Human, Stupid, Easily Forgiven, Not Quite Right.

Human Beings Everywhere In The World Are Affected By The Global Media Now. Still, What I Have Noticed In The East Asia, In The Indigenous World, Alaska In Particular, And In Back Country Farm And Ranch Country, Is A Higher Sense Of Etiquette, And More Respectful Manners. Urban Middle Class Cosmopolitan World Peoples Of All Races Have Become Speedy And Rude. This Is A Pretty Big Generalization Though.

You Run Into People Who Want To Write Poetry Who Don't Want To Read Anything In The Tradition. That's Like Wanting To Be A Builder But Not Finding Out What Different Kinds Of Wood You Use.