Dr. Joey Kim’s first book of poetry, “Body Facts,” is a finalist for the 81st annual Ohioana Book Awards.
“I am honored to be a finalist for the Ohioana Book Awards, which has recognized a long tradition of Ohio writers including Toni Morrison, Mary Oliver and so many esteemed others,” said Kim, assistant professor in the Department of English Language and Literature in The University of Toledo College of Arts and Letters.
“Body Facts” is Dr. Joey Kim’s first book of poetry.
“As someone who has lived in Ohio since the age of 2, this recognition for ‘Body Facts’ means a lot. The other poetry finalists this year, including E. Yetunde Ahn, Conor Bracken, Manuel Iris and Felicia Zamora, are incredibly talented, and it is humbling to be considered alongside their range of diverse works.”
Written over 13 years, “Body Facts” is a collection of Kim’s poems that offers perspectives on bodies — human and land — and addresses aspects of her life as the daughter of South Korean immigrants: Korean history, femininity, U.S. foreign policy and coming-of-age in the Midwest, among others.
Released by Diode Editions in June of last year, “Body Facts” won an international publication contest in 2020, and “Plunder,” one of the poems in the collection, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize, a prestigious national literary award given out annually since 1976.
Kim also won first place in the Art Commission’s 2020 Merit Awards.
