"HIS was the heart of a flower/that laughs when it sees a flower:/ the heart of the unencumbered." This is just a fleeting example of the work of Midang So Chong ju. His poetry has been translated from the Korean by Kevin O'Rourke, an Irish priest working with the Columban Fathers, who is Professor of English at Kyung Hee University in Seoul.

Poems of a Wanderer (Dedalus Press, £7.95) includes over 100 pages of Midang So Chong ju's poetry, including over 40 years of his work, starting with selections from his first collection, Flower Snake (1938).

Tilting the Jar, Spilling the Moon (Dedalus, 1993) is a selection of 1,000 years of Korean poetry, also translated by Kevin O'Rourke, and was a Poetry Book Society Recommended Translation.