Soje is the translator of Lee Hyemi’s Unexpected Vanilla (Tilted Axis Press, 2020), Choi Jin-young’s To the Warm Horizon (Honford Star, 2021), and Lee Soho’s Catcalling (Open Letter Books, 2021). They also make chogwa, a quarterly e-zine featuring one Korean poem and multiple English translations.
Soje graduated magna cum laude in English from the University of California, Berkeley, where they won the Dorothy Rosenberg Prize in Lyric Poetry and scholarships for their research on Oh Jung-hee and Toni Morrison. They received a two-year fellowship to attend the LTI Korea Translation Academy as well as various grants from LTI Korea and the Daesan Foundation. They served as Modern Poetry in Translation’s 2020 Writer in Residence.
Send good news to sojlee [at] protonmail.com.
*
EXCERPTS
- Five poems by Lee Soho in Chicago Review, 2021
- To the Warm Horizon by Choi Jin-young in Korean Literature Now, March 2021
- Five poems by Lee Soho in ANMLY, February 2021
- Five poems (including three video readings) by Lee Hyemi in The Margins, January 2021
- Three poems by Lee Soho in The Offing, October 2020
- Three poems by Heo Su-gyeong in Two Lines, May 2020
- “World of Breaths” by Lee Hyemi in Poetry Review, March 2020
- “Cohabitation” by Lee Soho in Black Warrior Review, December 2019
- Three poems by Heo Su-gyeong in Vagabond City, December 2019
- “No Panties” by Lee Hyemi in The Margins, September 2019
- Five poems by Lee Hyemi in Korean Literature Now, June 2019
- “The Cupboard with Strawberry Jam” by Lee Hyemi in Words Without Borders, June 2019
- Five poems by Lee Hyemi in Asymptote, April 2019
- To the Warm Horizon by Choi Jin-young in Korean Literature Now, March 2019
- Two poems by Lee Hyemi in Modern Poetry in Translation, June 2018
- To the Warm Horizon by Choi Jin-young in Words Without Borders, June 2018
INTERVIEWS
- A Safe Layer of Air Near Reality: An Interview with Serang Chung / 현실 바로 근처에서: 정세랑 작가와의 인터뷰 in The Margins, May 2021
- Treating Precious Things Preciously: An Interview with Choi Jin-young in Korean Literature Now, March 2021
- If My Poetry Is Like a Gun: A Conversation with Lee Soho Pt. 1 / 내 시에 총구가 있다면: 이소호 시인과의 대화 1부 in Modern Poetry in Translation, August 2020
- Something Like Delight: An Interview with So J. Lee by Sarah Timmer Harvey in Asymptote, August 2020
- Starting at the Surface: An Interview with Lee Hyemi / 수면에서 시작하기: 이혜미 작가와의 인터뷰 in Words Without Borders, June 2019
- In One Long Breath: An Interview with Choi Jin-young / 한 번은 긴 호흡으로: 최진영 작가와의 인터뷰 in Words Without Borders, June 2018
ESSAYS
- “Not Exactly a Sister” in Modern Poetry in Translation, June 2020
- “웹진 『초과』, 한국시 번역의 풍요로움을 그리다” (역 안서현) in 『자음과모음』, November 2019
- “사람들은 역시 야한 것을 좋아하니까” in 『비유』, November 2019
EVENTS
- Seminar with Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda at ALTA44, October 2021
- Translation classes at Catapult, September 2021
- PEN America Women in Translation Month reading with Serang Chung, August 2021
- Asymptote Book Club To the Warm Horizon Q&A, June 2021
- KCCUK Korean Literature Night with Choi Jin-young and Soje, May 2021
- UCLA Kwajŏng: Celebrating the Process of Translating Korean Literature, April 2021
- Bilingual Reading of Catcalling for Sant Jordi NYC, April 2021
- Catcalling Instagram Live Launch for Open Letter Books, April 2021
- Organizer and host of 이혜미 시인과 함께하는 초과 7호 낭독파티!, March 2021
- Video interview with Lee Hyemi on 문장입니다영, March 2021
- Organizer and host of chogwa issue 6 reading party: make a wish – January 2021
- KCCUK Korean Literature Night with Lee Hyemi and Soje, November 2020
- Host of Korean poetry workshop in Modern Poetry in Translation, August 2020
- Translating Sensualities with Soje for Women in Translation Month, August 2020
- Organizer and host of chogwa issue 3 reading = “gongbap” (the poem) x gongbap (real food) in Seoul, February 2020
- Organizer and host of chogwa issue 2 reading!potluck!gabfest! in Seoul, December 2019
- Reader at ALTA42 Translation LitCrawl in Rochester NY, November 2019
- Organizer and host of Smoking Tigers x Words Without Borders Queer Bilingual Reading / 퀴어문학 한영 낭독회 in Seoul, June 2019
- Performer at All Hail: The 2nd Drag King Contest in Seoul, May 2019
- Organizer and host of Damaged Goods screening in Seoul, April 2019
RESIDENCIES
- Modern Poetry in Translation’s 2020 Writer in Residence
- Writer’s Room at Prince Hotel Myeongdong – January-February 2020
- Seoul Art Space Yeonhui – December 2019
