A nativist poetry magazine for the Taiwanese people
In June 1964, a group of 12 Taiwanese poets came together to form the Li Poetry Society and launched the bi-monthly "Li Poetry," which has reached over 300 issues so far and not missed a scheduled issue once during its existence – a rarity in the Taiwanese poetry world.
Taiwanese poetry of the 1960s was largely caught up in a wave of surrealism, far divorced from people's experiences of social reality. In light of this, the founding creed of "Li Poetry" was declared atop its inaugural issue: "What we hope is to breathe life into this generation's poetry and to foster the kind of lively discussion that befits our times and our generation."
The subtext of this mission statement was that modern poetry of the 1960s had been swept up in a Western conception of Modernism, leading to an over-emphasis on innovation and experimentation in form and language at the expense of sincerity and realism. The resulting poems were thus obtuse, even meaningless.
It was in light of this that the Li Poetry Society was formed, bringing together local poets – particularly the post-WWII "cross-linguistic generation." These poets were versed in both Japanese and Chinese languages, and as they passed on their knowledge to successive generations, the society gradually became an important hub for native Taiwanese discourse.
The founding of "Li Poetry," meanwhile, underscored several points: First, that Taiwan's literati were slowly leaving behind the terror engendered by the February 28 Incident, once again coming together and making their voices heard.
Second, "Taiwanese publishing Taiwanese poems" indicated that a "local consciousness" of sorts was on the rise, setting down the roots for the nativist literature that would come to prominence in the 1970s. And third, that at some 20 years after World War II, the post-war language barriers were failing, and those who had grown up after the war were able to express themselves freely in written Mandarin.
At every stage since, "Li Poetry" has expressed something of an "outsider" position, its poetry and literature highlighting the voices of Taiwan's people and the colors of her geography.
Moreover, its pages have recorded and borne witness to all kinds of major events in the modern history of Taiwanese poetry, which has made it a valuable reference for the historical development of the nation’s "new poetry."
The first lady of cross-linguistic poetry
Chen Hsiu-hsi (1921-1991), an accomplished poet born during the Japanese colonial era, did not learn to write Chinese until she was 36 years old. She joined the Li Poetry Society in 1967, serving as chair for over two decades from 1971 until her death … (read more)