PEN World Voices Festival to feature Taiwan novelist Wu Ming-yi

2019/05/08

Wu Ming-yi is set to feature in the PEN World Voices Festival May 6-12 in New York, marking the first time a Taiwan writer has been invited to share their insights and works at one of the largest international literary events in the U.S.
 
 Participating with support from the Ministry of Culture, Wu is speaking at a forum co-sponsored by U.K. newspaper The Guardian and taking part in a book reading and salon. His talks will mainly focus on his acclaimed 2015 novel “The Stolen Bicycle,” the MOC said.
 
 Longlisted for last year’s Man Booker International Prize, the work centers on a writer’s search for a bike belonging to his father who disappeared some 20 years before. Chance encounters with a colorful cast of characters interlaced with historical events offer readers a page-turning look into Taiwan’s culture and development, as well as military conflicts in Southeast Asia during World War II.
 
 In the May 7 forum titled Meditation on War, Wu will join French novelist Laurent Gaude and Iraqi writer Sinan Antoon in discussing how individuals process memories of conflict and the role literature plays in illuminating humankind’s struggle against its darkest instincts.
 
 Two days later, Wu is scheduled to take part in the salon Sharing Literary Quest: Westbeth Edition, during which he will read excerpts from his work and exchange ideas with 13 other authors from countries and territories including Finland, Peru and the U.S.
 
 According to the MOC, the 47-year-old is widely regarded as one of the nation’s foremost contemporary writers. In 2014, his second novel “The Man with Compound Eyes” became the first Taiwan work to win the French International Insular Book Award.
 
 Launched in 2005 and organized by nonprofit PEN America, the festival brings together leading writers and artists to discuss literature and its role in human rights promotion. More than 200 talents from over 50 countries and territories are featuring in this year’s edition.

Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)