Sijo (The Rhythm of Time)

The companion volume to the best-selling Haiku: Japanese Poems for the Four Seasons

This book invites you into a poetic form rooted in centuries of Korean tradition, as timeless as the seasons and as intimate as a whispered memory. A sijo unfolds in three verses of fourteen to sixteen syllables: the first introduces a theme, the second elaborates it, and the third provides closure—often with a twist. In these pages are sijo by eminent poets of the fourteenth through eighteenth centuries, grouped into themes of nature, love, nostalgia, and dreams; each reveals something of the Korean perspective on time and life. For the fullest possible enjoyment, the poems are presented three ways: in the original Korean, in a Korean transliteration to Latin characters, and in an English translation.

The sijo are paired with luminous original artwork by award-winning Korean illustrator Eunjoo Lee, further deepening the reader’s experience. Featuring a traditional stab binding and housed in a handsome slipcase, Sijo will appeal to all lovers of poetry and anyone curious about Korean culture.