Shin Kyong-Nim's first volume of poems,
Farmers' Dance (Nong-mu)
, marked a major new step in the development of modern Korean poetry when it was published in 1973. The life of Korea's oppressed rural masses had never before been highlighted in such a manner. For years, the poet had shared that life as a laborer and salesman, and the poems reflect a deep identification with classes and situations that were normally not considered suitable subjects for poetry. This volume offers a full translation of the poems of the expanded 1975 edition, making available in English for the first time one of the most influential works of modern Korean poetry.