Jihyun Yun’s ‘Some Are Always Hungry’ Cooks Multiple Paradoxical Flavours of Identity, Existence, and Civilization Through Poetry

As the title of Jihyun Yun’s poetry volume, Some Are Always Hungry suggests, the poems feature food and hunger in all its forms: the decadent, the delicious, the heartwarming, the sparse and the ravaged. Food is at the center of existence in this collection. Its role in shaping one’s identity, memories and family ties are subtly depicted through the majority of her poems.

Jihyun Yun being a second generation Korean American, the other themes of Some Are Always Hungry revolve around ideas of immigration, feminism, Korean history and her family’s own stories. However, all these themes, like planets, revolve around the sun, food.

The descriptions of food in the poems are always indulgent, even when she speaks of the unimaginable hunger the poems’ persona faced during the Korean War in the early 1950s. Yun brings out both the visceral as well as the subtleties of making and enjoying any meal. She minces no words when it comes to vividly describing the preparation of the meat for the meals. Yet, she can easily and gently introduce the delicateness of enjoying all the ingredients of any dish. For Yun, food was the one crucial link to her past and to her present immigrant identity. This is brought out right at the beginning of the second poem, My Grandmother Thinks of Love While Steeping Tea.

“Drink it all,
dredge the bottom for sunk honey
pull the thumb of ginger in to your mouth
and suck. I mean for you to taste
your inheritance. The gunpowder,
our soil.”

Food is political and not new to the idea of ‘othering.’ This is seen in India as well where food of certain states is considered strange or barbaric. Worldwide as well, the distaste for food consumed by East Asian people, especially China in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, has increased. Although it is alright not to be used to a particular food or having only a set food as one’s comfort food, it is rather narrow-minded to mock cuisines of other countries or cultures merely because they are different from one’s own.

Perhaps as a result of such a constant othering of her own Korean cuisine, in the poem, Benediction as Disdained Cuisine, Yun reclaims all the food items the persona or the poet has forgone. What is powerful about the poem is how it reiterates the phrase, ‘give me’ before listing out the food item the poet has avoided for far too long. Two words repeated are all it takes in a way to make a culinary heritage worthy again. It shows an assertive persona, one who is unwilling to erase her identity.

Food is one sure way to remain true to one’s own culture and identity. This is even truer in Diaspora literature. For Jihyun and her family, food was a way to show affection to each other. This perhaps explains why food is central in her poems. Jihyun Yun explores all facets of food and how it can speak volumes about a person.

Jihyun Yun’s family history and memories are irreversibly linked with the home country, Korea. Her poems throw light on these three aspects through an interplay with food. The poems pull you in with all their tempting aromas, and then throw in the most painful remnants of her family’s history.

For example, the poem, Recipe, reads like a recipe. But Yun also narrates the disquieting experience of the Japanese occupation of Korea. Her grandmother prepares the dish and still confuses the Japanese and Korean words for the food items. Under the Japanese occupation of Korea, Koreans were not allowed to speak their language and were often forced to adopt Japanese names. The fact that the poet’s grandmother still confuses the words and “cannot discard Japanese” shows “a slim silhouette of occupation tethered to our language like a haunting.” Yun smoothly merges the act of cleaving the ingredients to the idea of a cleaved mother tongue or language.

Since preparation of the food is considered largely a womanly task, Yun also explores the notion of female labour and sacrifice. In the opening poem of Some Are Always Hungry, All Female, Yun describes the act of buying food from the market and her grandmother or halmeoni dismantling a crab for a meal. Through the metaphor of women being confined to cook even meat that is female, Yun hopes for freedom. It is a decidedly intrepid poem but one whose boldness and power sneak up on the reader slowly but surely.

Since this is the opening poem, the unexpected juxtaposition of the gendered food and gendered tasks immediately pulls you in and you know at once this book is going to be a remarkable read.

And oh what a treat it is to perceive and absorb all the paradoxical flavours of Yun’s poems in Some Are Always Hungry! From being no holds barred in their directness one moment to scaling back and bringing forth the most insidious of all metaphors in the very next, the poems in Some Are Always Hungry pack a powerful punch. They explore elements of hidden Korean history as well as the current realities of immigrants and assimilation. Yun also audaciously explores feminist topics such as in Menstruation Triptych, she speaks about three different perspectives to the monthly cycle. In Caught, Yun portrays the point of view of a rape victim questioning herself after the crime. It lays bare the constant victim shaming girls are subjected to. The Tale of Janghwa and Hongryeon is a retelling of the eponymous Korean folktale. It is a painful reminder of the many taboos that society still imposes on women.

All in all, Some Are Always Hungry includes a strikingly diverse collection of poems that captivate with both the personal and the historical.

*Disclaimer: A free PDF copy of the book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

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роОройрпНро▒рпЛ роТро░рпБ роиро╛ро│рпН роиродро┐роХрпНроХро░рпИропро┐ро▓рпН родро╛ройрпН родрпКро▓рпИродрпНродтАМ роХро╛родро▓рпИ роиро┐ройрпИродрпНродрпБ роЗройрпНро▒рпБроорпН роЕроирпНроиродро┐ропрпЛроЯрпБ рооро░рпБроХрпБроорпН ┬арооройродро┐ройрпН родрпЗроЯро▓рпН роЪрпКро▓рпНро▓рпБроорпН ‘роиродро┐роХрпН роХро░рпИропро┐ро▓рпН родрпКро▓рпИродрпНрод роХро╛родро▓рпН‘ роОройрпНройрпБроорпН роХро╡ро┐родрпИ роХро╛родро▓ро┐ройрпН роЖро┤роорпН рокрпЗроЪрпБроорпН.

роУро░ро╛ропро┐ро░роорпН роХро╛ро▓родрпНродрпБродрпН родройро┐роорпИ рокрпЖро░рпБроирпНродрпБропро░рпИ, роХро╛родро▓ро┐ройрпН роЪро┐ро▓ роирпКроЯро┐ роорпМройроорпН роЙрогро░рпНродрпНродро┐ро╡ро┐роЯрпБроорпН. роЕроирпНрод роорпМрой рокрпЗро░ро▓рпИропро┐ро▓рпН родродрпНродро│ро┐роХрпНроХрпБроорпН рооройрокрпНрокроЯроХро┐ройрпН роХрпИропро▒рпБроиро┐ро▓рпИ роЪрпКро▓рпНроХро┐ро▒родрпБ ‘роорпМройродрпНродро┐ройрпН роЗро░рпБрогрпНроорпИ‘ роХро╡ро┐родрпИ.

роХро╛родро▓рпН родро╛ройрпН роорпИропроХрпНроХро░рпБ роОройрпНро▒ро╛ро▓рпБроорпН роЕродройрпН ро╡рпЖро╡рпНро╡рпЗро▒рпБ ро╡ро▓ро┐роХро│рпИ, роирпЖроЮрпНроЪро┐ро▓рпН роиро┐ро░роорпНрокро┐┬а ро╡ро┤ро┐ропрпБроорпН роиро┐ройрпИро╡рпБроХро│рпИ, роиро▒рпБроорогрооро╛роХ рооро╛ро▒рпНро▒ро┐ роироорпН роЕро▒рпИ роиро┐ро░рокрпНрокрпБроорпН роЕроирпНрод ропрпБроХрпНродро┐ропро┐ро▓рпН роЙрогро░роорпБроЯро┐ропрпБроорпН роЪрпБро░рпЗро╖рпН рокро░родройро┐ройрпН роХро╡ро┐родрпНродро┐ро▒роорпИропрпИ.┬а ропрпБроХроорпНропрпБроХрооро╛ропрпН роЪро▓ройрооро▒рпНро▒рпБ ро╡рпАро▒рпНро▒ро┐ро░рпБроХрпНроХрпБроорпН рооро▓рпИроХро│рпИроХрпН роХрпВроЯ ро░роЪро┐роХрпНроХродрпН родрпВрогрпНроЯрпБроорпН ро╡ро╛ро░рпНродрпНродрпИ ро╡ро▓рпНро▓роорпИ роЗро╡ро░рпБроЯрпИропродрпБ.

роХро╛родро▓рпН родро╛рогрпНроЯро┐ роЕро░роЪро┐ропро▓рпИ, рокрпЖрогрпНроХро│ро┐ройрпН ро╡ро▓ро┐роХро│рпИ, роЪроХ рооройро┐родро░рпНроХро│ро┐ройрпН роиро┐ро▓рпИропро╛роорпИропрпИрокрпН рокрпЗроЪрпБроорпН ропродро╛ро░рпНродрпНрод роХро╡ро┐родрпИроХро│рпН, роороХро░роирпНродроорпН родрпЗроЯрпБроорпН ро╡рогрпНроЯрпБ рокрпЛро▓рпН роироорпН рооройродрпЛроЯрпБ ро░рпАроЩрпНроХро╛ро░рооро┐роЯрпБроорпН. роХрпБро▒ро┐рокрпНрокро╛роХ ро╡ро╛ро┤рпНро╡ро┐ропро▓рпН роиро┐родро░рпНроЪройроорпН рокрпЗроЪрпБроорпН ‘рокрпНро░рпИро╡роЪро┐‘ роХро╡ро┐родрпИ роироорпН рооройроЪро╛роЯрпНроЪро┐ропрпИрокрпН рокро┐ро░родро┐рокро▓ро┐роХрпНроХрпБроорпН. роЗроирпНрод рокрпБродрпНродроХродрпНродрпИ роирпАроЩрпНроХро│рпН ро╡ро╛роЪро┐роХрпНроХрпБроорпН рокрпЛродрпБ роЗро░рогрпНроЯрпБ ро╡ро┐ро╖ропроорпН роиро┐роЪрпНроЪропроорпН роиро┐роХро┤рпБроорпН. роТройрпНро▒рпБ, роЗроирпНрод рокрпБродрпНродроХродрпНродро┐ройрпН, роорпБродро▓рпН роХро╡ро┐родрпИропро┐ройрпН, роЗро░рогрпНроЯро╛ро╡родрпБ ро╡ро░ро┐ропрпИ ро╡ро╛роЪро┐роХрпНроХродрпН родрпКроЯроЩрпНроХрпБроорпН рокрпЛродрпЗ, ро╡ро╛роЪро┐роХрпНроХ роЙроХроирпНрод роТро░рпБ роЗроЯроорпН родрпЗроЯро┐ роЙроЯрпНроХро╛ро░рпНроирпНродрпБроХрпКро│рпНро╡рпАро░рпНроХро│рпН. роЗро░рогрпНроЯрпБ, роЗроирпНрод рокрпБродрпНродроХродрпНродрпИ ро╡ро╛роЪро┐родрпНродрпБ роорпБроЯро┐родрпНродро╡рпБроЯройрпН рокрпЖро░рпБроорпВроЪрпНроЪрпБроЯройрпН роХрпВроЯро┐роп роУро░рпН роХрпБро▒рпБроироХрпИ ро╡роирпНродрпБ роорпБроХродрпНродрпЛроЯрпБ роТроЯрпНроЯро┐роХрпНроХрпКро│рпНро│рпБроорпН.

роирпВро▓рпН роородро┐рокрпНрокрпАроЯрпНроЯро╛ро│ро░рпН рокро▒рпНро▒ро┐роп роХрпБро▒ро┐рокрпНрокрпБ:

роЪродрпНропро╛, ро╡ро╛ро░рпНродрпНродрпИроХро│ро┐ройро╛ро▓рпН ро╡ро▓ро┐роХро│рпИ ро╡ро┤ро┐ропройрпБрокрпНрокро┐ ро╡рпИроХрпНроХрпБроорпН роХрпВроЯрпНроЯрпБрокрпН рокро▒ро╡рпИ. роОроирпНрод роЙродроЯрпБроХро│ро╛ро▓рпБроорпН роорпКро┤ро┐ропрокрпНрокроЯро╛род рооройро┐род роЙрогро░рпНро╡рпБроХро│рпИ рокрпБродрпНродроХроЩрпНроХро│ро┐ро▓рпН родрпЗроЯрпБрокро╡ро│рпН. роЪроЩрпНроХрпАрод рокро┐ро░ро┐ропрпИ. роЗропро▒рпНроХрпИропро┐ройрпН роЪроЩрпНроХрпЗрод роорпКро┤ро┐ роЕро▒ро┐роп роорпБропро▒рпНроЪро┐рокро╡ро│рпН.

A blunder of Poetry – Po’try

Bangalore got its own Poetry Festival this year. Considering the fact that the city has a strong and vibrant poetry community that thrives in the bookstores, cafes, and parks; a poetry festival was in fact due and perhaps should have even come earlier than now. The festival was liked by most of the attendants. I must most sincerely thank the organizers for such a Herculean effort.

There is one more thing that must be spoken about. A book was specially commissioned to be unveiled at the festival. Po’try was released as an anthology of poems that were shortlisted from the entries that were received in response to the poetry contest conducted as part of the festival. The entries were supposed to be in English, Hindi, or Kannada and required the number of lines to be more than 25.
As per the claim made by the publishers, some 300 poems were received out of which 159 were shortlisted to be published. The selected poets were asked to pay a sum of 1000 INR for 5 copies of the book. They were given a transaction code upon payment and were told to collect their copies after the unveiling of the book during the last session of Day-1 of the festival. 159 poets – 5 copies each, this amounts to a bare minimum of 795 copies of the book. However, the publisher company brought only about 50 copies to the festival. What followed reeked of complete absence of professionalism, humility, or any kind of empathy for the poets who had gathered to collect their copies. At this point, I must disclose the name of the publishing partner of the BPF 2016Raindrops Company headed by one Mr. Bernard Dsa. Though such a company must be ignored and not be given any kind of reading space on social media, I thought it prudent to write about the experience I had with them so that the people who are coming next are aware of the narcissism of the company. Rest of the evening of the festival was spent in remorseless series of selfies by the publisher while the poets stood by another poet who somehow had volunteered to keep 2 copies of the book on display so that people could come and get a photo clicked with the publisher holding their book.
Click. Done. Return the book. Next!

potry-1

I got hold of the book 2 weeks after I had forgotten about it. Though I was never much excited about my poem getting published in the book, it was still a good feeling to have the book in my hands. However, after having a glimpse of the inside pages, that feeling was short-lived. The book stands out for its shoddy editing, floundering the rules of the contest laid down by the organizers themselves, publishing same poem multiple number of times under different poets’s names and titles. Horrid editing will be an understatement. This book has not been edited at all. There are poems that are in Hindi but published in Roman script without any transliteration marks. In spite of all these blunders, the biggest irony of this book would be the strong-arming of the contributing poets to pay up 1000 INR in advance without giving them a control on the number of copies they wanted. Raindrops Company┬аsent a sermon that the poets would need 5 copies each and hence they must pay 1000 INR in advance to receive those 5 copies. The company didn’t stop there. It wanted to spit in our face, so it priced the book at 180 INR on Amazon.

poetry-2

I still had sympathy for the poets who had landed up in the hands of such a terrible publisher and hence went on to read all the poems except 3 or 4 poems written in Kannada. Well, I found a silver lining. Please find below the list of 58 poems that I loved from the book. If you have already decided to not buy the book, try looking for the poets on facebook, they might be kind enough to share their published poems with you. Please note that this is not a ranked list.

  1. Hark! - Abhishek Kumar Singh
  2. Empty Piece of Paper Flutters Around - Dr. Aakash Dhruva
  3. Cracked & Splintered - Aishwarya Soni
  4. рдкреНрд░рддрд┐рдмрд┐рдВрдмрд┐рдд - Akanksha Bumb
  5. Distant Vespers - Amrendra Pandey
  6. I am Indeed - Ankit Mishra
  7. These Kindnesses - Ankush Banerjee
  8. рдкрд╣рд╛реЬ рдФрд░ рд╕рдордВрджрд░ - Anshul Nagori
  9. Unfettered - Apoorva Viji Shivaram
  10. Aquarium - M. Ashitha
  11. Deathwish - Ashvani Sachdev
  12. Scatterbrain Syndrome - Avani Jain
  13. The Unchanted Souls - Dr. Debashish Sengupta
  14. She-An Unparalleled Work of Art - Debarati Saha
  15. рд╡рд╛рдж рд╡рд┐рд╡рд╛рдж ┬а- Gaurav B Gothi
  16. Antarctica - Gaurav Chauhan
  17. рдЦреВрди рдкрддрд▓рд╛ рд╣реЛ рдЪрд▓рд╛ ┬а- Gaurav Tiwari
  18. Ice'scapades - Gayathri Rao
  19. Sun's Story - ┬аIlu
  20. рдкреНрд░рдХреГрддрд┐ рд╣реВрдБ рдореИрдВ рд╣реА ┬а- Jaya Srinivasan
  21. A Cuckoo Calls - Lovie D'sa
  22. Does a Bonsai Tree Dare Dream? ┬а- Lynessa Coutto
  23. Theatre du Reve - Praveen Dhawan
  24. рдЬрдиреНрдорджрд┐рди ┬а- Priyank Anand
  25. It was a Dream - Mahima Prasanna
  26. Bliss in solitude ┬а- Mahua Sen
  27. Back Home ┬а- Maitrayee
  28. Twilight - Mallika Bhaumik
  29. The Pendulum Heart - Mihika Shankar Shivni
  30. All Things Put Aside - Nishu Mathur
  31. Pacification - Nitish Nair
  32. The Impossibility of Us - Purnima Gopalakrishnan
  33. Sitting There - Rahul Raghunath
  34. рдХрд░реНрдг рдХрд╛ рдзрд░реНрдо ┬а - Rajesh Joshi
  35. рдпрд╛рдж рд╣реИ рд╕рд┐рд░реНрдл ┬а- Ranjana Tripathi
  36. A Trilogy of Musings - Rashmi Jejurikar
  37. Circling into the Center - Reshma Mudirakkal
  38. Us and Them - Rohit Nand
  39. Journey to You - Aimey Maggie Augustine
  40. Chikku Mara - Sandip Mondal
  41. No filter - Shachi Srivastava
  42. Death - Shruthi Vishwanath
  43. The Oracle - Shyni kp
  44. Meet - Srinivasacharya Darbhasayanam
  45. Disclaimer - Siddharth Shukla
  46. On My Grandmother - Sihi Nagathihalli
  47. A Disjointed Symphony - Simran Sethi
  48. Father ┬а- Sindhu Verma
  49. The Earth you Fought - Soujanya K.
  50. Cry of Wicked Souls - Sarala Balachandran
  51. Saudade - Sreeparna Chattopadhyay
  52. Inheritance - Suganya Lakshmi
  53. рдереЛреЬрд╛ рдФрд░ рдкрдХрдиреЗ рджреЛ - Tarundeep Kaur
  54. рддрд▓рд╛рд╢ - рд╡рд┐рднреВрддрд┐/Vibhuti
  55. рдирд┐рд╢рдмреНрдж - Vidya Krishna
  56. A gloomy rose - Vignesh
  57. H.O.M.E - Yamini Acharya
  58. Declarative Memory - Yumna Harisingh Jawa

This is not to suggest other poets were not good. Yes, there were a few who should have been more serious with their contributions but perhaps the publishers didn’t deserve better. Nevertheless, congratulations to every poet who has got published. Good Edit-Bad Edit – You are a published poet now and you have our best wishes.

Mandatory Disclosure – Writer’s poem was also published in the Anthology.┬а