Taichung City unveils winners of literature prize
2015/09/16
The winners of the prestigious Taichung Literature Prize were unveiled Sept. 13 by the local government, spotlighting the richness of the cultural landscape in the central Taiwan metropolis.
Top honors went to acclaimed author Liao Yu-hui, who beat out seven rivals to claim the Literature Contribution Award. A total of 54 talents were selected from a field of 1,058 for the Literary Creation Award.
Taichung City Mayor Lin Chia-lung said the fourth edition of the prize creates a greater appreciation for local literature and functions as a platform for exchanging ideas and experiences. “We are encouraging creative writing and recognizing those committed to passing the literary torch.”
Echoing Lin’s remarks, Wang Zhi-cheng, director general of Taichung City Government’s Cultural Affairs Bureau, said Liao is a deserving winner and absolutely dedicated to cultivating the next generation of literati.
Liao, who has penned 40-plus works over nearly 30 years, is a National Taipei University of Education academic and 1994 Sun Yat-sen Culture and Art Composition Award winner. She regularly gives free community lectures in Taichung, laying the foundation for the development of a robust local literary environment.
“She is also famed for her crisp yet descriptive prose spanning such topics as family life, interactions with students and social observations,” Wang said, adding that her humorous style is popular nationwide.
According to the bureau, this year’s Literary Creation Award included essays, fairy tales, fiction and poetry submitted by writers from home and abroad. An exciting new feature of the award is the addition of a young essayist competition, allocating 13 prizes for junior and senior high school students, respectively.
Prize judge Chen Hsien-jen, who doubles as a professor of Chinese literature at Changhua County-based Mingdao University, said the entries draw upon personal experiences and offer valuable insight into the lives of these talents of tomorrow.
“I am impressed with the composure and maturity, which helps deliver honest and sincere reflections while minimizing the excessive rhetoric usually characterizing the work of young people.”
One of Chen’s favorite pieces was by Tsai Miao-guang, winner of the junior high school essayist competition.
“The details of his grandmother making rice cakes on Chinese New Year’s Eve are in the best tradition of food literature,” he said. “They also illustrate the love of this 14-year-old student for his family through an adventure in the kitchen.”
Launched in 2012, Taichung Literature Prize fosters literary achievement and provides cash prizes of NT$120,000 (US$3,670) for the contribution award and NT$1.26 million for the creation award.
Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=236641&ctNode=2194&mp=9)
