Poetry. I USED TO BE KOREAN is Jiwon Choi's second full length poetry collection. Hanging Loose Press also published Choi's earlier poetry collection, ONE DAUGHTER IS WORTH TEN SONS. "These sharp-tongued poems, often levitating on their own buoyant wit, are full of Jiwon Choi's delightful 'wickedness and dirty humor.' Her work is propelled by New York immigrant energy, which of course makes it quintessentially American." --Terence Winch "'Korea is far away' from the Oyster Bar in Grand Central and many of the other sites mentioned in these poems, yet it (the mother) is ever present, whatever the poet is or 'used to be.' Choi is learned but never academic (she's too nimble and street-smart to be academic), and I love her way of seeing and thinking. I Used to Be Korean (a riddle of a title) is a beautiful book."--Linda Norton
Jiwon Choi is a Brooklyn poet, preschool teacher, and urban gardener, her work has been widely published in various online and print publications, including Painted Bride Quarterly, Bombay Gin, and Hanging Loose. She is the author of I USED TO BE KOREAN (Hanging Loose Press, 2021) and ONE DAUGHTER IS WORTH TEN SONS (Hanging Loose Press, 2017).
"These sharp-tongued poems, often levitating on their own buoyant wit, are full of Jiwon Choi's delightful 'wickedness and dirty humor.' Her work is propelled by New York immigrant energy, which of course makes it quintessentially American." - Terence Winch
"'Buttering,' bedazzling' 'shellacking,' 'kissing' – in I Used to Be Korean, Jiwon Choi's present participles wrestle with the past tense, winning every match through sheer candor and vitality. The poet's 'rosebud power' and honesty are dynamic, as is her grasp of history, family, identity, and eros. Out of keen attention, Choi makes poetry of butchery and blame and pockets empty but for lint. There's something Sapphic—both scorching and tender—in a poem like 'I Ate Your Heart Out,' and something of Robert Frank's vision in Choi's fresh takes on, say, Texas (i.e., 'America'). 'Korea is far away' from the Oyster Bar in Grand Central and many of the other sites mentioned in these poems, yet it (the mother) is ever present, whatever the poet is or 'used to be.' Choi is learned but never academic (she's too nimble and street-smart to be academic), and I love her way of seeing and thinking. I Used to Be Korean (a riddle of a title) is a beautiful book." - Linda Norton
"Here is a poet of suggestion rather than declaration. With personal, cultural, and historical references, in spare, vivid language, both sensory and sensual, she creates her worlds. Emotion and intellect meld and temper each other. You may find yourself experiencing any poem from inside it, instead of from some objective perch." - Harley Elliott
"jiwon choi's i used to be korean.. is fusion / fusion of memory both real and not / verbal snapshots and within those snapshots / she sees what the rest don't—or may not care to see. / the bias of the world / the need for human contact both funny and Brutal . oh SHE IS Korean / family is here / strangers are here / first loves // the angst of childhood / and the HUMAN commonality and a lot more ... she is both participant and chronicler .. her words / hug / ripple / stick to the page and bend the mind .....I Used To Be Korean is simply WONDERFUL." - Dael Orlandersmith
