Our thanks go to Korean women poets and writers, too numerous to name here, who led us to the kisaeng; to Suh Younguen, inspirational in this regard, who was also instrumental in obtaining generous grants from the Korean Culture and Arts Foundation for the project; to Park Sangun, of the Foundation, for his patient support during our search for the right publisher; and to Mun Chunghi, who helped us compile the poems of this book.
We owe special thanks to Allen Mandelbaum and Christopher Ricks for their kindness in reading the manuscript and suggesting a great many improvements.
We wish to thank the editors of the following journals, where some of these translations first appeared: Asian Pacific American Journal; The Beloit Poetry Journal; The Chicago Review; Grand Street; The Ledge; Lift; New England Review/Bread Loaf Quarterly; Pequod; Poetry East; and TriQuarterly.
Finally, we thank Sam Hamill and our editors, Steve Huff and Thom Ward, whose appreciation of the poems made the book possible.
Constantine Contogenis has published in several journals and has received poetry fellowships from the Edward Albee, Tyrone Guthrie, Ragdale, and Helen Wurlitzer Foundations. He lives in New York City.
Wolhee Choe, also of New York City, is Professor of English at Polytechnic University, and is the author or translator of numerous books on poetry, painting, and poetics.