War poems

Homer wrote the Iliad about the Trojan War. Killing and living, weeping and mourning, flight and wandering are the themes of war. Contemporary poets of the 21st century continue this tradition. It is amazing how many modern “war poems” there are today. The American-Korean poet Suji Kwock-Kim writes her poems about her divided homeland – North and South. 

Her poems gave me the idea to look into “comfort women”. We composers are probably more forgetful than poets? At the “Forecast Festival” – 16 to 18 July at Radialsystem – Suji Kwock-Kim will read her latest poems and discuss them with the audience. The recording of my composition “Hwajon” – text by Suji Kwock-Kim – will be played. (This choral work was premiered by the Tokyo Philharmonic Chorus.)