The summer that stayed with RM finally reaches English readers

BTS' RM (@bts.bighitofficial) That summer I stood in the centers of storms That summer my despair burst out into crimson but still I weathered the wind and rainThese lines come from "That Summer's End," the title poem of Lee Seong-bok's celebrated poetry collection.When BTS' RM shared a photo of the book on social media in September 2022, the 1990 poetry collection found a new generation of readers at home and abroad.Nearly four years later, the work that captured the artist's attention is finally available in English."That Summer's End" hit bookshelves Tuesday. It was published by Knopf, an imprint of Penguin Random House, which acquired world English rights to the collection.Born in 1952, Lee is one of Korea's most acclaimed poets, whose work has earned many of the country's highest literary honors.This is Lee's third poetry collection, bringing together 106 poems that explore love, longing, waiting and despair through restrained, meditative verse tracing the wounds of the inner self and the slow process of healing, according to Korean publisher Moonji Publishing.Knopf introduced the collection as "poems of self-reflection and exquisite beauty — an intoxicating blend of Seon Buddhism and French Symbolism."According to Knopf, the poems, "though acutely conscious of the self, are free of an inhibiting self-consciousness, speaking directly of youth, love, fear, family, grief, old age, impermanence, and all that’s central to life."The English translation was completed by award-winning translator Anton Hur, who also translated Lee's book of literary criticism "Indeterminate Inflorescence." The book was published in the US by Sublunary Editions in September 2023 and in the UK by Allen Lane, an imprint of Penguin Books, in November 2024.Hur was reportedly almost finished translating "Indeterminate Inflorescence" when RM unexpectedly shared "That Summer's End" on social media.To celebrate the English publication of "That Summer's End," Lee and Hur will embark on a US book tour in October. Their events will begin with a lecture at Wellesley College in Boston on Oct. 16, followed by a conversation at the Boston Book Festival the next day. They will then appear together at Fordham University in New York on Oct. 19, with additional events planned at bookstores in the city. "That Summer's End" (Knopf) "That Summer's End" (Moonji Publishing)