Olje Classics’ latest series focuses on writing well

Non-profit publishing house Olje released the 17th set in its “Olje Classics” series Thursday, focusing on the art of writing.

The four-book series includes “Classic of Poetry,” the oldest collection of Chinese poetry in existence, “The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons,” a treatise on Chinese literary aesthetics, Aristotle’s “Poetics,” and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter.”

According to Olje, these classic texts have been reinterpreted for the series. “Classic of Poetry” has been translated with a new reading of the texts as love poems, from the perspective of cultural anthropology and folk studies in East Asia.

As the foundation for Chinese literary aesthetics, “The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons” was recommended for anyone who hopes to write or read well.

“Poetics” was described as the root of Western literary theory, and in the series it will appear in a translation by Kim Wan-su, who remained as true to the original text as possible. “De Anima” accompanies “Poetics” to offer deeper insight into Aristotle’s philosophy.

Lastly, “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, translated by Choi Jae-seo in 1953, is presented as an example of good translation. Despite having been translated over 6 decades ago, it is considered to be the best Korean translation thus far, not only conveying the meaning of the sentences but also reflecting Hawthorne’s literary style.

Olje Classics releases four texts every quarter, with 5,000 copies of each. 4,000 copies are sold at a low market price of 2,900 won ($2.42), while the rest are donated to schools and institutions. The latest series was mostly sponsored by Samsung and Kia Motors.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)