“Many Korean movies and novels display a strong sense of social critique, but Korea’s poems have traditionally been more lyrical than political in nature.”

“Russia in Revolution: An Empire in Crisis, 1890-1928” by S.A. Smith; Oxford University Press (455 pages, $34.95)“Lenin on the Train” by Catherine Merridale; Metropolitan Books (353 pages, $30)“Caught in the Revolution: Petrograd, Russia, 1917: A World on the Edge” by Helen Rappaport; St. Martin‘s Press (430 pages, $27.99) Russian President Vladimir (right) denounces Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin for his brutal rule and for placing a “time bomb” under Russia. (AP PHOTO)One hundred years ag

Longtime resident Michael Breen looks at how the country’s citizens have changed over the decades in ‘The New Koreans’

Classical and contemporary Korean literature will be available electronically through the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, which has digitalized 33 masterpieces.The project involved digitalizing 28 classical pieces, which had been previously translated into English, French and German from Korean, as well as five works which were translated through the institute but had not been published abroad. Titled, “The Digital Library of Korean Classics,” the 28 classical works include “Printemps

Canada‘s best-known writer Margaret Atwood said it was largely worries about women’s issues after the US election that made her book “The Handmaid’s Tale” the latest dystopian novel to shoot back up best-seller lists.The book, about a theocratic dictatorship in the United States where women are forced to bear children for the ruling class, topped Amazon’s best-seller list earlier last week.In an interview during Cuba‘s international book fair, where Canada is guest of honor, Atwood said sales of

Korean poems will become a regular feature in the Guardian newspaper this year.The poems -- selected in partnership with Asymptote, a website specializing in translations of literature -- will be featured on the “Translation Tuesdays” corner of the British daily. The works of seven Korean poets, including Kim Ki-taek, Moon Tae-jun, Yoo An-jin and Choi Seung-ja, will be introduced this year, according to the Literature Translation Institute of Korea which jointly manages the project with Asymptot

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- “Josie came to this city ... to have a good time and she is going to have it while she lasts,” one madam advertised in a 1903 directory of Storyville, then New Orleans’ flourishing legal red-light district.It’s the ads that add interest to the pocket-sized directories sold a century ago for 25 cents, Pamela D. Arceneaux writes in “Guidebooks to Sin: The Blue Books of Storyville, New Orleans.” The $50 coffee-table book will be released Saturday by The Historic New Orleans Coll