Korean Short Stories
Ra Heeduk The Two Rooms of the Heart 심장 속의 두 방 Translated by Kevin O'Rourke
Information This work was previously published in New Writing from Korea . Please contact the LTI Korea Library. library@klti.or.kr
About Ra Heeduk Ra Heedukk (1966~ ) was born and raised in a Korean orphanage where her parents— Christians who sought to carry out the teachings of their religion through communal living—served on the administrative staff. Na has confessed that the experience of living with orphans had made her a precocious child; and the recognition of the difference between herself and her playmates early on gave her a unique perspective on the world. Ra stumbled into the life of a poet quite unintentionally. While struggling between the religious ideals fostered by her parents and the causes upheld by the student movement she encountered in college, Na simply came to seek salvation in poetry.
LTI Korea eLibrary: http://library.klti.or.kr/node/121
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The Two Rooms of the Heart Obliterate me! I opened the window onto the street and called thick fog into my rooms. Fog that obliterated the traffic lights. The fog evaporated after crossing the window sill. Even fog loses its way here. Obliterate me! Material things gulp down the thick fog. Still they rub dry, sandy eyes. Fill me up! Thick fog crept like the tide through the window that opens to the sea. Fog that obliterated the horizon. The fog flowed into me after crossing the window sill. Even fog reels here. Fill me up! Fog wet the chair; fog wet the mirror. Material things suddenly were one with the fog. The heart has two contiguous rooms, each careful in its movements not to waken the other. All that moved between the rooms was the silent, restless, undulant fog. Copyright 2008 Literature Translation Institute of Korea
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