Poet laureate: ‘The pen … an instrument of discovery’

You may think writing poetry is all about gazing at the stars in the sky and the bluebells in the fields, then being struck by divine inspiration. But if you ask Billy Collins, he’ll tell you the process is more like a Wallace and Gromit cartoon.“There’s a great one where the dog is on top of a locomotive,” says the two-term U.S. poet laureate. “He’s got a box full of track, and he’s frenetically laying down track in front of the train. That’s a good metaphor for writing a poem.”Collins, 72, has

BooksOct. 24, 2013

Bed writing haunts ‘The Daylight Gate’

The Daylight GateBy Jeanette Winterson(Grove) Jeanette Winterson’s new novel is a strange and spare piece of horror writing about witch trials that arrives on these shores just in time for Halloween.“The Daylight Gate” is based on a real-life story of the Pendle Witches, men and women charged in 1612 with using their alleged craft to murder innocents in Lancashire in northwest England. Winterson re-creates the turbulent times that fed the anti-witch hysteria. King James, obsessed with the idea o

BooksOct. 24, 2013

Malcolm Gladwell battles giants in ‘David and Goliath’

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling GiantsBy Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown and Co.)The dose makes the poison, as Paracelsus, the father of toxicology, is supposed to have said. A glass of water is good for you; an ocean’s worth can be fatal.That’s the underlying message of Malcolm Gladwell’s new exercise in raconteurship, “David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants.” The book is ostensibly about how underdogs can win, but for great stretche

BooksOct. 24, 2013

BoA still going strong in Japanese music market

K-pop diva BoA’s local single “Message/Call My Name” ranked eighth on Japan’s Oricon Chart on Wednesday, the day of its release.Three Koreans -- BoA, along with singers TVXQ and Kim Hyung-joon formerly of SS501 -- ranked in the top 10 on the major music chart. BoA made her debut in Japan in 2002, just two years after debuting in Korea, and has been sweeping the Japanese music charts ever since. BoA was part of the first wave of K-pop singers to secure a large fan base in the country, producing h

Oct. 24, 2013

YFU Korea builds a bridge between Korea and Japan

 The Youth for Understanding in Korea, a nonprofit student-exchange organization, is on a mission to build a bridge between Korea and Japan, according to its president.Shin Chung-ha, 73, the president of YFU International Korea, has been leading the organization since its foundation in 1989.He said YFU Korea’s program first started between Korea and Japan with the goal of “raising youth awareness and decreasing historical hostility between the two nations.”In the past 24 years, more than 500 stu

PeopleOct. 24, 2013

‘Gut’ greater art than cinema: Park

Media artist and filmmaker Park Chan-kyong grew up in southern Seoul, living in modern apartment complexes. He was raised Catholic by his parents, even serving as an altar boy as a youngster.It wasn’t until his university years that he became interested in Korea’s local shamanism. He majored in fine art at Seoul National University, and worked as a media artist and art critic ever since. “Up until college, I think I wasn’t too comfortable with the whole concept of it,” Park said during an interv

PerformanceOct. 23, 2013

Ballet company goes modern

After “Swan Lake” and “Onegin,” leading ballet company Universal Ballet is presenting something a little different this month: they call the piece “This is Modern.”The piece is a collection of four different modern ballets: “Black Cake,” by Dutch choreographer Hans Van Manen, Spanish dancer and choreographer Nacho Duato’s “Duende” and Czech choreographer Jiri Kylian’s “Petite Mort” and “Sechs Tanze.”Compared to classical ballet, the show is said to highlight the different dance styles and flair

PerformanceOct. 23, 2013

Joseon art to be displayed in San Francisco

A total of 71 artifacts reflecting the prosperity and cultural diversity of the Joseon period (1392-1910) will be displayed at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum from Friday. “In Grand Style ― Celebrations in Korean Art During The Joseon Dynasty” will be the first major U.S. exhibition to examine the legacy of the Yi dynasty ― among the world’s longest running ― that continues to resonate in Korean culture today, the organizers said. The exhibition is to feature four themes: what it meant to be

CultureOct. 23, 2013

Holocaust survivor makes symphony debut with Ma

BOSTON (AP) ― A 90-year-old Holocaust survivor made his orchestral debut with renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma on Tuesday to benefit a foundation dedicated to preserving the work of artists and musicians killed by the Nazis. Ma and George Horner received floral bouquets and a standing ovation from the audience of about 1,000 people in Boston’s Symphony Hall. They appeared to enjoy their evening, chatting briefly between numbers and walking off the stage hand-in-hand after taking a bow together.Before t

PerformanceOct. 23, 2013

Psy returning to Seoul for four-day concert series

The gentlemanly Psy will be ringing in the holiday season by returning home and holding a special four-day solo concert series from Dec. 20-22 and on Christmas Eve at Seoul Olympic Park’s Gymnastics Stadium. The upcoming performances will mark his first concert in Korea in nearly eight months after his internationally broadcast “Happening” show in April, where the rapper attracted around 45,000 local concert goers on top of more than 130,000 fans tuning in online during the live feed. Psy has al

PerformanceOct. 23, 2013

Lesbian romance tale arrives with praise, whiff of scandal

NEW YORK (AP) ― “Blue is the Warmest Color” arrives in the United States from France this week ― and it’s bringing along some baggage.  On the plus side, the intense and soulful lesbian romance carries a Palme D’Or from Cannes, awarded not only to director Abdellatif Kechiche but, in a rare gesture, to his lead actresses, who received effusive praise from jury head Steven Spielberg. It’s also done boffo box office in France. On the more complicated side, it carries a whiff of scandal ― in the fo

FilmOct. 23, 2013

New layering ideas for spring looks

Korean womenswear designers presented new ideas for layering during the 2014 spring/summer Seoul Fashion Week as they incorporated lightweight fabrics as an add-on to their minimal, clean-cut looks.Designers created their own images of a city girl on the go that ranged from romantic, sporty, modern to classical. No matter what the image, the practical, comfortable looks should be added to the shopping list for the next season’s wardrobe. Organza, lace and shimmering fabrics were added on as the

Arts & DesignOct. 23, 2013

Suu Kyi finally gets EU Sakharov rights prize

STRASBOURG (AFP) ― Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday finally received the EU’s Sakharov rights prize she won in 1990 at the height of a brutal military crackdown, but said her work was not yet done.Members of the European Parliament gave Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi a standing ovation as she accepted the award from the parliament’s president Martin Schulz.“You demonstrate that people who fight for democracy will triumph in the end,” Schulz said. “I congratulate you. ... You a

PeopleOct. 23, 2013

JYJ Park Yoo-chun denies dating rumors with a golfer

JYJ’s Park Yoo-chun denied a recent report that he is dating pro golfer Ahn Shin-ae.Park’s agency CJES Entertainment dismissed the rumors: “Park met Ahn Shin-ae with other acquaintances while he was learning to play golf, but they are not in a relationship.” Park’s agency and Ahn’s representative requested the public to refrain from speculating over untrue stories. The media spotlight was sparked by a local media report claiming that they were in a serious relationship.Ahn worked as an official

Oct. 23, 2013