Dear Matthew,
I hope you have been doing well.
After returning from Europe, I took about a week to recover from jet lag and regain my energy.
For this journey, I printed fifty copies of our leaflet, and I was able to leave forty-eight of them at bookshops along the way.
My first stop was the conference in Siena, where I shared the leaflet with professors and several students in Korean Studies. They were genuinely interested, especially in the translations, and I promised to send them the original Korean poems after returning home.
After Siena, I visited Florence and Rome. The experience was quite different from my visit to Lisbon in 2019.
In Lisbon, I felt warmly welcomed. Perhaps it was because Fernando Pessoa is celebrated throughout the city, with bookstores and shops proudly displaying books and souvenirs inspired by him. It felt like a city that embraces its poets.
Florence and Rome, however, felt different. After returning home, I found myself reflecting on why.
First, Florence and Rome are much more tourism-oriented cities than Lisbon. Perhaps people naturally saw me as a tourist rather than as a writer.
Second, I wondered whether my limited English, together with being an Asian visitor, made communication more difficult.
Third, many of the bookshops I visited also operated as cafés, restaurants, or bars, which may have made it less practical for them to introduce or display independent literary projects.
Because the leaflet was written in English, one bookseller—who I believe was probably a staff member rather than the owner—suggested that I should instead visit bookshops specializing in English-language books.
In Florence, every bookshop kindly accepted my leaflet. In Rome, one bookshop politely declined. It appeared to be one of the busiest bookstores in the neighborhood, and the staff explained that any decision to display printed materials had to be discussed and approved at a staff meeting.
I cannot say that I was enthusiastically welcomed everywhere, but I also realize that this expectation was my own. If even one person becomes interested and a genuine connection begins, I will consider this journey worthwhile.
Most importantly, this small adventure was meaningful because I was able to share a leaflet that we created together—you, the illustrator Han So-jin, and I. Thanks to this project, I wandered far beyond the usual tourist destinations and explored the small streets and independent bookshops of Florence and Rome.
Back in Korea, I am currently teaching as a professor while also working with a local cultural foundation on a project interviewing independent neighborhood bookshops. Looking back, from March through August, I have been on a continuous journey through local bookshops in both Korea and Europe.
Thank you, Matthew, for accompanying me on this journey through your work and encouragement.
Now many projects are waiting for me again.
I hope to spend this summer working, reading, writing, and loving.
With my sincere gratitude,
JO EUN YOUNG
P.S.
I’ve been documenting this journey on my Instagram (@bella_joeun), if you’re interested.
Centre of the Web 