臺灣文學虛擬博物館

๑ Lin Foer ๑ Li Yu-fang ๑ Yeh Ti ๑ Yeh Shih-tao ๑ Tân Īn ๑ Huang Chin-lien ๑

We multiply and die out constantly
In the saline land.
Crude and lowly,
We persevere as everlasting, free granules
Sparkling on the barren land

Excerpted from "The Saline Land" Twelve Poems of the Saline Land
Author: Lin Foer
Translator (Chinese to English): Wen Hsu
Publisher: Hsi-Kang-Lu Culture-Creative Publishing (2013)

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| About the Author |

Lin Foer's creative works include poetry, prose, and novels. His poetry is characterized by its clear style, skillful use of metaphors, and deep imagery, expressing his love for the land of Taiwan. His prose has a simple, rustic feel, with strong autobiographical elements, showing sympathy for others' suffering and a passion for life. His early novels were rich in local sentiments, while later works focused on mystery novels, with his first mystery book "Island Murder Case" pioneering the genre in Taiwan. Besides writing, his Linbai Publishing House was a key publisher of romance and mystery novels in early Taiwan.

Begone these bitter days of destitution!
A pinch of salt
can season my sorrows
into something more toothsome and palatable.

Excerpted from "Bloody Salt" Unleashed - The Poetry of Li Yu-Fang
Author: Li Yu-fang
Publisher: Niang Publishing (2018)

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| About the Author |

Li Yu-fang's creative works began with prose and extended to poetry after joining the "Li Poetry” Society in 1978. Her works were featured in the "Independence Evening Post" supplement and the "Li Poetry” publication. Lin Fang-nian commented on her poetry as "bold in imagery, fresh in sentence construction, breaking some old-fashioned styles. Not only is she concise in rhetoric, but she also makes strides in expressing artistic conception." In recent years, Li Yu-fang has been involved in local radio's "Children's Poetry Appreciation" program, writing and compiling children's literature and local teaching materials, and actively contributing to local culture by conducting oral history projects for the elderly in Xiaying Township, Tainan.

What are dreams? Salt! … The salt we all need to go on living. Days spent in pursuit of a dream are harsh indeed, but days void of dreams are worse still. Why, you ask? It is because in the absence of dreams, life is a monotony of nothingness broken only by the passage of time.
 

Excerpted from "Dreams" Blossom Drop Season: The Poetry of Yeh Ti
Author: Yeh Ti
Publisher: Azure Books and the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Tainan City Government (2019)

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| About the Author |

Yeh Ti's creative works include discourse, poetry, and prose. His poems and prose cleverly use metaphors, irony, and synesthesia to express his lyrical and philosophical thoughts on nature and life, his concern for all beings, his feelings and hopes for Taiwan, and his critique of society and politics. Yeh Ti believes that poetry is a part of everyday life and the reflection and contemplation of life and society. His discourse mainly focuses on literary works, combining historical perspective with politics, society, philosophy, and literary trends to discuss Taiwanese literature both broadly and in detailed analysis of individual authors. Yeh Ti has also translated works, including Japanese and Taiwanese literature.

I have always seen an analogy between literature and salt. While seemingly trivial and unimportant, salt is both a chemical compound that our body cannot do without and one of the most important seasonings in every kitchen cupboard. As with salt, while its nourishing effect on the human spirit can't be observed, literature is essential to enriching the spirit of humanity.
 

Excerpted from the acceptance speech of Yeh Shih-tao at the 5th National Award for Arts (2001)

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| About the Author: |

Yeh Shih-tao's creative works include discourse and fiction. He began extensive novel writing in the mid-1960s, often using a humorous and satirical tone to depict the plight of the downtrodden, revealing the absurd nature of human suffering, as seen in works like "Spring Dream of Hulu Alley" and "Sunny and Cloudy Days." His post-martial law era works in 1980s, such as "The Red Shoes" and "Son of Taiwan: Chien A-Tao,” set against the backdrop of the White Terror and the February 28 Incident, have a strong autobiographical nature. His novels are deeply rooted in local consciousness, focusing on the local spirit and historical experience, depicting the plight of human condition and the pursuit of salvation or liberation. His literary critiques, especially "Taiwanese Literary History," have garnered significant attention, being the first contemporary history of Taiwanese literature and a foundational work for Taiwanese literary research.

I am like a light rain.
In my hands I hold
salt crystals like tears from your eyes.
I've made such earnest efforts.
The sea certainly knows
the salty taste of love.

Excerpted from "Sio Field Office-Work Outing" A Poet's Journey through Tainan
Author: Tân Īn
Publisher: Avanguard Publishing House (2019)

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| About the Author |

Tân Īn's creative works include discourse, poetry, and mainly prose. His discourse focuses on education, highlighting the problems in Taiwan's current junior high education; his poetry draws on everyday thoughts and feelings; his prose is simple and warm, using common life events and objects as emotional guides to explore nature and humanities, bringing readers closer to the local people and culture of Taiwan.

White egrets strut to and fro,
wandering amongst the salt pans, amongst the boats.
The sea provides us with poetic inspiration.
Lacking the requisite skills
as well as panache, we
nevertheless press on,
to write of farmers' lamentations
and fishermen's frustrations.
We write salty poems to bring us
a better tomorrow.

Excerpted from"Preface" The Small-Minded City
Author: Huang Chin-lien
Publisher: Taileh Press (1993)

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| About the Author |

Huang Chin-lien's creative works mainly include poetry and prose, along with literary critiques. During his university days, Huang Chin-lien co-founded the "Mainstream Poetry Society,” publishing pioneering poems and poetry reviews. He also engaged in prose writing, with a language that is simple yet mischievously playful. His poetry style is rough yet elegantly mocking, with each line radiating the unique local flavor of southern Taiwan's grassroots. His poems have a musical rhythm, reminiscent of folk songs, with sonorous rhymes suitable for recitation. Notably, he has been highly successful in writing Taiwanese-language song lyrics.