E.J. Koh in Conversation With Mary Szybist

The Magical Language of Others (Tin House) is a powerful, aching love story in letters, from mother to daughter. After living in America for over a decade, Eun Ji Koh’s parents return to South Korea for work, leaving 15-year-old Koh and her brother behind in California. Her mother writes letters, in Korean, over the years, seeking forgiveness and love – letters Koh cannot fully understand until she finds them years later in a box. Koh fearlessly grapples with forgiveness, reconciliation, legacy, and intergenerational trauma, arriving at insights that are essential reading for anyone who has ever had to balance love, longing, heartbreak, and joy. The Magical Language of Others weaves a profound tale of hard-won selfhood and our deep bonds to family, place, and language, introducing a singular, incandescent voice. Koh will be joined in conversation by Mary Szybist, author of Incarnadine.