Started two years ago under the auspices of the Taipei City Government, the biennial International Poetry Festival is back to provide deep thoughts on life, the universe and everything else.
While it is sometimes a little hard for the hoi polloi to take the idea that it is poetry that is at life's cutting edge, rather than food, accommodation and education, the encouragement given to poetry by such events is an important part of creating a fully formed local literary culture.
But of course, no Taiwan arts festival would be complete without a fully integrated "multimedia element," and this year's Second International Poetry Festival is no exception. "Poems on electronic paper" will be a major part of the enterprise, which also offers the advantage for the overly sensitive to stay at home and still get the benefit of the audio-visual poems that have been uploaded to the Internet and which can be found at http://dcc.ndhu.edu.tw/poem/2003.
In case poetry itself is not enough -- and some heavy-hitters from overseas have been brought in to enliven the event -- there will also be events featuring performance artists in various mediums from Luo Man-fei (羅曼菲) and Cloud Gate II to Leon Dai (戴立忍) and Labor Exchange (交工樂團).
While this is being done in the name of broadening the horizons of poetry, it looks more like a case of anxiety on the part of organizers that mere poets will never bring in the crowds.
While many of the events will be taking place at Chungshan Hall, approximately 30 percent will be distributed to other venues including Eslite Bookstore's Tunhua South Road branch, Taipei Artists' Village, Tamkang University Campus and so on, to give the event citywide relevance.
Tomorrow and Sunday, the event will start off with a major show of multimedia poetry at Chungshan Hall, which will include poetry recitals, singing, dancing and theatrical performances. Next week on Saturday, Sept. 20, there will be a "night of poets," bringing together major local and foreign poets to talk about their art. Among the biggest names will be Jean-Pierrre Simon, Wolfgang Kubin and Christian Bok.
Theme events will also feature as part of the festival, with sessions devoted to women's poetry, Aboriginal poetry, poetry celebrating rural Taiwan and, of course, Internet poetry.
All these events and much more will be taking place starting tomorrow, through Sept. 26. Details for events can be found at poetry.culture.gov.tw.
Jason Han says that the e-arrival card spat between South Korea and Taiwan shows that Seoul is signaling adherence to its “one-China” policy, while Taiwan’s response reflects a reciprocal approach. “Attempts to alter the diplomatic status quo often lead to tit-for-tat responses,” the analyst on international affairs tells the Taipei Times, adding that Taiwan may become more cautious in its dealings with South Korea going forward. Taipei has called on Seoul to correct its electronic entry system, which currently lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan),” warning that reciprocal measures may follow if the wording is not changed before March 31. As of yesterday,
The Portuguese never established a presence on Taiwan, but they must have traded with the indigenous people because later traders reported that the locals referred to parts of deer using Portuguese words. What goods might the Portuguese have offered their indigenous trade partners? Among them must have been slaves, for the Portuguese dealt slaves across Asia. Though we often speak of “Portuguese” ships, imagining them as picturesque vessels manned by pointy-bearded Iberians, in Asia Portuguese shipping between local destinations was crewed by Asian seamen, with a handful of white or Eurasian officers. “Even the great carracks of 1,000-2,000 tons which plied
It’s only half the size of its more famous counterpart in Taipei, but the Botanical Garden of the National Museum of Nature Science (NMNS, 國立自然科學博物館植物園) is surely one of urban Taiwan’s most inviting green spaces. Covering 4.5 hectares immediately northeast of the government-run museum in Taichung’s North District (北區), the garden features more than 700 plant species, many of which are labeled in Chinese but not in English. Since its establishment in 1999, the site’s managers have done their best to replicate a number of native ecosystems, dividing the site into eight areas. The name of the Coral Atoll Zone might
Nuclear power is getting a second look in Southeast Asia as countries prepare to meet surging energy demand as they vie for artificial intelligence-focused data centers. Several Southeast Asian nations are reviving mothballed nuclear plans and setting ambitious targets and nearly half of the region could, if they pursue those goals, have nuclear energy in the 2030s. Even countries without current plans have signaled their interest. Southeast Asia has never produced a single watt of nuclear energy, despite long-held atomic ambitions. But that may soon change as pressure mounts to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change, while meeting growing power needs. The
RSS