Jack Jung
Assistant Professor of English
Education
- B.A. Harvard College
- M.A. Seoul National University
- M.F.A. The University of Iowa
Background
I am a poet and literary translator. I primarily translate Korean poetry into English.
Prior to coming to 51¹ÙÍø, I taught creative writing at the University of Iowa and led Korean poetry translation workshop at the Literature Translation Institute of Korea. I am also a mentor for Korean poetry translation in the American Literary Translation Association's emerging translator program.
My translations of poetry and prose by a major Korean modernist poet Yi Sang (1910-1937) is published in Yi Sang: Selected Works edited by Don Mee Choi (Wave Books 2020). Besides contemporary American poetry and modern Korean poetry, I fell in love with the poetry of English Renaissance poetry in college, and my undergraduate thesis was on John Milton and his epic poem Paradise Lost.
At the same time, I am fascinated by world-building in speculative fiction, and I love digging into the lore behind great video game narratives. In writing poetry, I find myself exploring traditional forms, canonical texts, and fusing them with the avant-garde. Reading contemporary poetry, I am always exploring works that push the boundaries between literary genres.
When I teach writing, my goal is to recognize what my student is trying to achieve and help them see the ways that they can get there.
