Poet Kim Hye-soon joins American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Poet Kim Hye-soon, aged 70, has been elected as an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Korean poet Kim Hyesoon in an interview with reporters in western Seoul on March 22, 2024 [MOONJI PUBLISHING COMPANY]

Poet Kim Hye-soon, aged 70, has been elected as an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS).

Kim was selected as one of eight new members in the "Literature" section under the "Humanities and Arts" category, according to the AAAS on Sunday. She is the first Korean writer to be elected to the academy's literature division. The other seven inductees are all writers from the United States, including poet Kwame Dawes, playwright Katori Hall, and writer and activist Rebecca Solnit, who is known for her work on environmental and human rights issues.

Founded in 1780 to promote the advancement of arts and sciences, the AAAS counts figures such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Albert Einstein among its past members.

The academy is divided into five sections: Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Biological Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Humanities and Arts and Leadership, Policy, and Communications.

It currently has around 14,500 members. New members are elected each April through an internal voting process. This year, a total of 248 new members were selected, of which 23, including Kim, are not from the United States.

Kim debuted as a critic in 1978 and as a poet the following year. In 2019, she won the Griffin Poetry Prize in Canada for her work "Autobiography of Death." Last year, she became the first Korean to win a National Book Critics Circle Award for her poetry collection "Phantom Pain Wings." In 2022, she was also named an International Writer by the Royal Society of Literature in Britain.

The induction ceremony for the new members will be held in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in October.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff. BY HA NAM-HYUN [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]