Q1. Nice to meet you. Please introduce yourself.

: Nice to meet you. I'm Kim Seokyoung, a poet. I am a person who forgets poetry where there is poetry, and I create poetry where there is no poetry. I like to enter poems from outside, beyond, and on the outskirts. While delving into the realms of both explicit and implicit languages, I am interested in the dynamic relationships between influenced things, humans, still life, and animals.

Q2. Let’s start by discussing your award. You won the 41st Kim Sooyoung Literature Award for your poetry collection “To the One Who Wants to Hold a Stone.” Can you describe how you felt when you were selected as the winner?

: When I first submitted my collection of poems, I submitted it under the pseudonym of Kim Marie (the name of the speaker in the collection). I received a call from someone asking me, "Are you Ms. Kim Marie?" I was really surprised because I was not expecting this at all. So I cried. While I was preparing this collection of poems, I felt the fun of poetry again. I was grateful for that alone, but it was even more meaningful to receive an unexpected award.

Q3. On the other hand, winning the award may come with increased expectations. How do, or will, you deal with these heightened expectations: embrace them or seek to alleviate the pressure?

: I think winning the award means, "Don't write like this." Fortunately, the judges said in their commentary, "Give yourself the freedom to play," so I'm grateful that I have been encouraged to play as much as I want from now on. I think self-creation comes out through self-denial, so I think it is okay to betray expectations, and I try not to be burdened as much as possible. Now it is a battle with myself. It is up to me to get through it.

Q4. Now, I'm going to talk about your poetry collection, “To the One Who Wants to Hold a Stone.” The title and the frequent use of stones in the poems suggest that ‘stone’ is a central theme. Can you explain why you chose ‘stone’ as the core keyword for this work, and how should readers interpret its significance?

: I think people focus on stone because the title includes stone. At first, I did not mean to set stone as the keyword. Originally, the title of the book was "Sit Like Still Life." So the focus was on still life. However, the editorial department said the title seemed a little boring and suggested several alternative titles. They strongly recommended "To the Person Who Wants to Hold a Stone." I had a lot of thoughts until the end because I composed my collection of poems under the title of "Sit Like Still Life." With the new title, I wanted to focus more on the concept of people holding a stone. I thought it would highlight the contrast between the movement of a 'dog' and the stillness of ‘still life,’ creating an interesting dynamic.

“To the Person Who Wants to Hold a Stone” is a title that suggests more mobility than initially apparent. Actually, it is possible to read it as "Sit like a still life = Sit like a stone". In the end, I think the title effectively encapsulates the idea of still life evolving into an animal and an animal taking on the qualities of still life, with a bi-directional movement. It is a title that seamlessly integrated the overall composition. However, the change in title shifted the perspective. While ‘A Shot,’ which features numerous stones, is a prominent piece within the collection, it offers a more open and diverse range of interpretations.

Also, I think the focus is more on the stone because of the “Poet's Words” (The moon is the moon because it revolves. / If it doesn't turn, it's a stone.) in the poetry collection. It was a sentence that stemmed from the idea that the moon is like a person. Moonlight shines because it reflects the sun. Likewise, people cannot shine in isolation. Drawing a parallel between the Earth and the Moon, we are seen as having a dual nature, resembling both a stone and the moon. Above all, I believe that movement is paramount. People can only truly move when in the company of others.

I hope readers can interpret the meaning of stones in various ways. A stone can be a moon, a still life, or even a person. I want readers to approach my poems with an open mind, embracing the idea that they can have various interpretations.

Q5. The format of your poetry collection was very new, resembling that of a movie with an opening, two main sections, and ending credits. This format is not commonly seen in poetry collections. Could you explain the reasons behind your choice to use unique this format?

: I did not initially think of adopting a cinematic structure, but I found that movies, with their editing, resemble life, much like poetry. I thought this format was effective in emphasizing repetition and movement, and, most of all, I wanted to show that poetry can be a form of fiction within a cinematic framework.

If we look closely at life, it is a series of moments that seem to have paused. The same goes for memories. Our lives resemble edited movie sequences, where even the present can be seen as the result of past or future editing. I wanted to have control over time in my own creative way, which led me to choose the movie format for my poetry.

I think that the present involves revisiting and reinvigorating the past through repetition. When we identify distinctions within this repetition, the present gains new meaning, leading to changes in the future by altering the past. I see the potential for changing the course of our lives through editing in both directions, past and future. The biggest attraction of writing is that we can rewind time.

Q6. What is your primary focus when you write a poem?

: I want to make writing poetry fun, but sometimes I cannot enjoy it because of the pressure to do well. So there have been times when it was hard to write. But now I consider myself the number one reader, so I am going to focus on writing what I genuinely like. I think having fun is the most important thing. And I think it is fun when I am immersed in the process.

I think literature has a unique ability to grasp irony and paradox best. While these elements may initially appear negative, they reveal a deeper and more complete side of me. Poetry brings us closer to the core of poetic expression. This is the power of paradox. Poetry often seeks to convey the unutterable, and in doing so, it embraces the language of denial. Paradoxically, this impossibility of expressing the inexpressible becomes the very essence and potential of poetry.

Literature is an ongoing interplay between self-denial and self-creation. It is like a continuous conflict between these two forces. In this context, denial is not about avoidance or exclusion; it is about engaging with it. Self-creation is possible only when we endure self-denial. This process may appear to erase something in motion, but it actually forms a repetitive cycle that shapes the trajectory of movement once again.

Q7. How would you describe the charm of poetry to people who are not yet familiar with it?

: Words are very important to humans, but there are aspects of our experience that cannot be explained. I see these unexplainable elements as the subject of poetry, a form of expression that seeks to grasp the inexpressible. I like the phrase "When humans encounter something that they can't understand, it's often an encounter with themselves" (from Max Picard's "The Human and the Horse"). Poetry, as a medium of ‘failure,’ strives to convey what words cannot, making it a complex but fascinating form of expression.

I originally entered school to pursue novel writing but ended up majoring in poetry. I still remember being shocked when an evaluation suggested that my first poem was going in the opposite direction of poetry. I think I have been thinking about what poetry is and the genre and medium of poetry for a long time since then.

Poetry is like an endless maze. The biggest attraction of poetry is not finding an exit but wandering around and making one’s own exit. While life cannot be rewound, poetry can be revisited and rewound at will.

Q8. Lastly, do you have any advice for students who dream of becoming a poet like you?

: Everyone has their own personality. The language we use is divided into social language and personal language, and I think the desire to speak in one's own language is close to literature. "I am different from others" means "I express myself differently to others." It would be fitting to express your ideas in a poem.

The most important thing is imagination. There are no right or wrong answers in the realm of imagination. You can write freely in your own language, thinking of yourself as the primary reader. Communicate with yourself and make your own language.

Writing literature can be a difficult task because it involves persuading others objectively with our own language. While it may not be easy, I hope you enjoy it. I believe that constant reading and admiration, even of others’ works, will empower you to write poetry.