Taiwan Literature: English Translation Series, No. 46

Horng Shuling was born in 1962 in Taipei City. She has a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Chinese Literature of National Taiwan University (NTU) and is currently a professor in the Chinese Literature Department of NTU.

This issue contains the verse of twenty-four poets. From 1924, when Hsieh Chun-mu first published four "Poems in Imitation," the development of new poetry in Taiwan has a history of almost one hundred years. The roots of new poetry in Taiwan with its "twin flower bulbs," to use the phrase coined by Chen Chien-wu, has now bloomed and borne fruit. It manifests diversified themes, and places great stress on both artistic expression and social concern. It recognizes globalization as the major trend of the times, and maintains a dynamic balance between nativist consciousness and the ensibilities of the Chinese cultural diaspora. Taiwan literature and its new poetry written in Chinese should have a place in the Chinese world community, as well as in the history of world literature. Limited by the space allowed for the journal, we could only select works related to "local" and "quotidian" writing. Yet we hope to observe through these works the manner in which the unique charm and gracefulness of contemporary poetry from Taiwan has blossomed in the garden of world literature.