“This is a life lesson using poetry as a textbook,
“These will be surprises you have never experienced before.”
"A Jujube": Sentences from the poems loved and admired by poet Jang Seok-ju

* Highly recommended by poet Na Tae-ju
* 77 life quotes from Baek Seok to Kahlil Gibran
* In an age of excess, the deep and profound resonance of poetry, the language of restraint.

'There are a thousand cliffs before us, and to overcome a thousand cliffs, we will need a thousand hopes.
But time is of no use in reality.
Poetry is so useless, yet it has the power to keep us going.' (From the text)

This book, "Wouldn't Life Be Too Lonely Without Poetry?", doesn't promise material abundance, nor can it change the world, but it talks about poetry, the only language that whispers hope even in despair, saying, "Only when you no longer know what to do can you truly do something," and quietly hums that you can live even when you are broken and damaged, saying, "If you are shattered, you can live in shattered pieces."

Author Seok-ju Jang, a poet of poets and literary critic who has published over 100 books and has been reading and writing poetry for nearly 50 years, has returned with 77 essential poems for wavering adults.
We have carefully selected works admired by all generations, including those by Na Tae-joo, Baek Seok, Kahlil Gibran, and Mary Oliver, and added the author's thoughts and insights to help readers understand.

Perhaps we have been so lonely because we have forgotten poetry.
Additionally, it is okay to put aside concerns such as ‘it is unfamiliar’, ‘it is difficult to understand’, or ‘I am afraid that I will not understand the poet’s intention’.
There is no need to treat it like the entrance exam days when it was solely an object of conquest and no other interpretations could be applied; it is enough to simply read and savor it.
The harsher reality becomes and the more we feel uneasy, the closer we should get to poetry.
If you reflect on one or two poems every day, you will receive a deeper and more profound comfort than someone telling you, "It's okay."

There is no reason for poetry to impart morals or to be loud.
The voice of poetry should be a whisper, and the smaller the scale of poetry, the better.
I'm not saying that poetry has to be an extraordinary insight into life and the universe or an invention of language.
Poetry must pierce through poverty and misery like steel, and train us to be manly.
Poetry must sprout, grow, soar, and dance, overcoming the routine and the old to open up the future.
I gathered together the poems I loved and admired.
This is a life lesson in poetry, a rare delight for the heart, and a surprise you have never experienced before.

--- pp.7~8

When I first read "The Goose," my eyes lit up.
It was like that every time I discovered a good poem.
It seemed like he was patting me on the shoulder and encouraging me, saying, “No matter who you are or how lonely you are, don’t give up and live.”
There are a thousand cliffs before us, and to overcome a thousand cliffs, we will need a thousand hopes.
But poetry is of no use in reality.
Poetry is so useless, yet it has the power to keep us going.

--- p.25

"Me, Natasha, and the White Donkey" is one of Baekseok's best songs, made up of words such as Natasha, donkey, mountain village, Magari, Gojogonhi, and Eungang Eungang.
This poem is perfect for reciting out loud to yourself when the first snow falls.
The last line, “Wherever the white donkey is, it will bray tonight because it is so good,” which my ears love to hear, is both sad and beautiful.

--- p.38

On a tray with a fallen ear
I take a bowl of rice and think about it.
Why do people eat?
If you eat to live, why live?
To get a bowl of hot rice
How many times have I sinned
How many times have you lied to yourself?

--- p.135

"Under the Bamboo Grove" is a poem filled with the true thoughts of a person who lives a self-sufficient life in a simple mountain village.
As I read the poem, which combines moonlight, bamboo forest, night fog, moon, and well, I too wanted to become a true person.
Poetry that is not permeated by even a single evil thought, poetry that is not tainted by even a speck of shame or dust, such impure poetry can only be written by those who are pure.
This is a poem that, after reading it, clears your mind as if you had rinsed it with cold water, and it is a poem that leads you to the righteousness of life.
If this isn't good poetry, then what is? I was deeply moved by this poem when I was twenty.
It was because I suddenly realized that good poetry comes from a good life.

--- pp.214~215

In Szymborska's poetry, observations of objects and phenomena are unambiguous.
Even when dealing with ordinary material, he creates clear poetry with transparent observation.
The verse that sings, “Born without any practice / Die without any training,” is so clear that it leaves no room for even a single ambiguity.
“There is no second chance” cuts to the heart of life.
Who dreams of living twice? No day in our lives is ever repeated.
From the moment we are born to the moment we live, we cannot meet the same kiss or the same gaze.
Our existence is solid only as an irreversible, one-time event.
What makes our existence so sublime, poignant, and beautiful is that it is fleeting and fleeting.
So the poet might have written, “You disappear—and therefore you are beautiful.”

--- p.218

Poetry is the extraordinary discovery of the ordinary.
A poem that contains no discoveries would be nothing more than a heap of dull and meaningless words.
A poet is someone who draws out unfamiliar thoughts from familiar things that are passed by without a second thought.
An imagination as elastic as a spring is what gives the poet the status of discoverer of things.

--- p.230