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Moon Jar, National Museum of Korea Issue 177 of "The New Quarterly" has just been published. I have a poem in this issue, "Moon Jar." Moon jars are elegant Korean ceramics creations, and they acted as a prompt for my poem, which includes Korean words. Read it in "The New Quarterly"! https://tnq.ca/issues/issue-177/ ...

Read my explanation of why I wrote Quantum, a bold, highly imaginative book, made for the 21st century in The Miramichi Reader . "Reading poetry means crossing into a space of mindfulness that lends itself to introspection. Some call this “being in the zone”—a state of meditation and detachment that nurtures focus and clarity of purpose. A question comes to mind: What if poetry is a field of creative energy whose quanta surround us, and in which we can immerse ourselves thro

I'm glad I joined The Ontario Poetry Society (TOPS) last summer. A glowing review of "Quantum" written by Stradford's Poet Laureate is included In the January issue of Verse Afire, The Ontario Poetry Society's literary magazine. Here are two sentences that stuck with me: 'In short, this is a quite exquisite poetry collection, employing resounding and surprising word combinations that tap into the the heartfelt core of what it means to live on this earth.' 'Irina Moga's Quantu

I confess. I find poetry readings longer than a few minutes by a single poet boring. In many cases their poems are interesting and fresh, but the strain of focusing on one's voice and intonation takes the edge off their message. Some readers drone on and on, without any consideration for the audience's razor thin margin of patience, quickly propelling the said audience on a tangent out into the stratosphere. What's to be done? I am seriously thinking about the topic, as I pre

Winter wearing you down? Ready to escape to a different place, even if for a short while? Read one of my three short stories - variations on "boy-meets-girl": Pilot Meets ER Doctor: Whispers in Jeju Island - Hotch Potch Literature and Art - Issue 4.2   'Dol Hareubang' sculpture, Jeju Island, South Korea Student Runs into Fellow Student: A Lone Stone Rarely Falls - in DarkWinter Literary Magazine Sculpture of Gwendolyn MacEwen in Gwendolyn MacEwen Park, Toronto, Ontario, July

A review of "Quantum" in TheSeaBoardReview.ca https://www.theseaboardreview.ca/p/quantum-poems-by-irina-moga

Text on back cover of "Green Man Ascendant" by A.J. Dalton.

Read my short story, "Whispers on Jeju Island" in issue 4.2 of "Hotch Potch Literature and Art." https://read.bookfunnel.com/pdf/sijzwqnwoa It is set in mysterious, magical Jeju Island in South Korea. One of its main characters is Dol Hareubang, the iconic, ubiquitous stone statue on the island. The key scene in the short story takes place in Bijarim Forest, a nutmeg forest, 800 years old.

The theme of a 'secret garden' is recurrent in both literature and cinematography. Here a short story, my take on this theme, which was published in Streetlight Magazine. The setting of this short story is the beautiful Changdeok Palace in Seoul, South Korea. https://streetlightmag.com/2025/09/12/the-secret-garden-by-irina-moga/ #new, #fiction, #shortstory #SouthKorea, #Seoul #Changdeokgung

I've joined Substack. https://irinamoga.substack.com/ I will pe posting short snippets or literature, art and travel. Thanks for...

I am excited to see my latest poetry released by DarkWinter Press. Here is the link to the press release: https://www.darkwinterlit.com/p...

Five or Six Islands ( 오륙도) in Busan, South Korea. Photo - Irina Moga I am thrilled to see my poem "Five or Six Islands" translated into Korean and made into a short poetry video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5mLKC9IaCk This poem is the opening poem in my newest book, "Quantum" and the fact that I placed it there reflects its importance to me. The poem has been inspired my travels in South Korea, by the Korean culture, and written as a direct response to Hwang Byungki's ma

I am pleased to have the poem "Five or Six Islands" included in the summer issue of California Quarterly.

My poem "Strands" was published in the June post of "Fiddles and Scribbles: Strands by Irina Moga Let us speak of memory — its web of layers — fragmented music, invented strands of colors blown by winds just like one snuffs out the last candle into complete obscurity. Let us speak of what is never lost, never regained, the uneven paradise of our being, fragile and frivolous like a luminous winter in which snowflakes dance and then melt away as they reach the ground. Who are

Read my two poems inspired by a quote from Marcus Aurelius in Issue 13, May 2025 of "Paddler Press." https://paddlerpress.ca/issues-trip-...

Driving through Niagara Falls yesterday, too cold to take in the thunderous beauty of the falls, just enough time to take a couple of...

I am glad to have my poem "Coffee" featured in an avant-prèmiere of Issue 002 of the literary magazine " Phylum Press ". I am grateful to...

I’ve always had a passion for fashion, which, can be argued, is an underrated form of art - albeit a more lucrative one than poetry.  ...

A Promise by Irina Moga   A dark wave of sheer meanness flickered in Snowman’s eyes. He had spied a pink, hand-written note zigzagging slowly from the window on the first floor. Snowman found the descent of the pink post-it note downright irritating; rare snowflakes, blown by westward winds, could not assuage his outrage at the faint lilac whiff let off by the note. He felt speechless. Speechless with rage? Jealousy? Desire, maybe? He wasn’t too sure; his feelings seemed to b

Read my poem "Platinum Blonde" in the November 2024 issue of Uppagus. I started writing this poem with a fuzzy, pop art rendition of...