Photographer salutes Taiwan’s veteran literati

2014-09-25

A recently published photo book by Taipei City photographer Chen Wen-fa is rekindling interest in Taiwan’s literati from the older generations.

Fifteen years in the making, the title has been a labor of love for Chen. It features 24 senior academics, poets and writers less known to the younger generations, including Chuang Yung-ming, Hsin Tai, Lei Hsiang and Lin Rui-ming.

“I am an old soul,” Chen said. “For me it is easier to relate to old writers and talk about things that happened in their time.”

One of the photographer’s favorites in the book is 86-year-old Huang Ling-tzu—a writer of Japanese novels and haiku, as well as a collector of sculptures and antiques. “Huang has led a fascinating life and yet his unique experiences remain relatively unknown,” he said.

Another special inclusion for Chen is Lin Yen, who won a major literature award with her controversial novel that later became the movie “The Silent Thrush.” “She was abundantly talented but had to stop writing for more than a decade after marrying a peasant,” he said.

Others leaving vivid impressions are Hsieh Shuang-tien, one of a handful of female Hakka writers in Taiwan, and the late Hsiao Pai.

According to Chen, the book is not so much about the writers’ accomplishments, but rather an expose of their struggles in pursuing artistic careers. “It’s hard for people in Taiwan to make ends meet simply by writing,” he said. “My conversations with them seek to unveil a rather intimate side of their lives.”

A self-described old-school photographer, Chen said he uses a more than 10-year-old camera, only shoots in black and white and never makes an effort to capture the more photogenic side of his subjects.

“I was not looking for a perfect visual image,” Chen said. “Certainly, some of the photos portray the writers in an uncomfortable or untidy light, but this is the reality of those who have helped shape Taiwan’s literary development.”

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=222067&CtNode=413)