Krys Lee

Krys Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea, raised in California and Washington, and studied in the United States and England. She was a finalist for Best New American Voices, received a special mention in the 2012 Pushcart Prize XXXVI, and her work has appeared in the Kenyon Review, Narrative magazine, Granta (New Voices), California Quarterly, Asia Weekly, the Guardian, the New Statesman, and Conde Nast Traveller, UK (forthcoming). Lee lives in Seoul with intervals in San Francisco.

Her new book is Drifting House.

Recently I asked Lee what she was reading.  Her reply:

I’m reading Adam Johnson’s The Orphan Master’s Son. I’ve been close to the North Korean defector community in Seoul for many years, so have a natural interest in books all things Korean. I also appreciate the slightly off-kilter perspective that Adam brings, as well as the intensive research and courage it takes to tackle such a difficult subject.

Another book I’m reading is the The Vintage Book of Contemporary World Poetry. I wrote poetry before I ever began writing fiction, and feel it’s an important influence on my stories. Fiction writers could learn a lot from poetry’s economy and distillation of language.

I’m also dipping into Wallace Stevens’ The Necessary Angel: Essays on Reality and the Imagination. As with Stevens’ poetry, I don’t necessarily always understand him, but even if I understand him obscurely it’s of great value to me.

Visit Krys Lee's website.

The Page 69 Test: Drifting House.

--Marshal Zeringue