A symposium on Taiwan literature was held Sept. 29-30 at Bordeaux Montaigne University in France, as part of ongoing government promotion of the country’s culture.
Supported by Taiwan Cultural Center in Paris under the Ministry of Culture, the event is organized by Angel Pino and Isabelle Rabut, French sinologists and winners of the Taiwan-France Cultural Award presented by the MOC in 2012, as well as Chou Tan-ying, a Taiwan-born novelist and associate professor at BMU.
According to the ministry, the two-day event featured writers and academics from Taiwan, Europe and the U.S. in discussions on research in Taiwan literature and its reception overseas.
Participants included David Der-wei Wang, who was elected academician by Academia Sinica, Taiwan’s foremost research institute, in 2004; German Thilo Diefenbach, whose research focuses on Taiwan literary history; and Federica Passi, an associate professor at the Ca’Foscari University of Venice who specializes in the study of modern and contemporary Taiwan literature.
A highlight of the event was the attendance of Taiwan indigenous Tao group writer Syaman Rapongan, while poets Wu Sheng and Yang Tze took part via video conference. They discussed recent translation and publication of their work into French.
The center also staged two meet-and-greet events in Bordeaux and Paris for Syaman Rapongan, known for his genre of oceanic literature. His new autobiographical novel “Mata nu Wawa” was released by French publisher L’Asiatheque in June.
The symposium will move on Oct. 1 to continue at the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations in Paris, the ministry added. (SFC-E)
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