Taiwan’s nature writer Liu Ke-xiang will be traveling to Berlin, Germany as a resident writer in October, according to the Council for Cultural Affairs.
Liu’s trip is part of the CCA’s push to get more literary works from Taiwan translated into foreign languages. The CCA last year signed a memorandum of understanding with the Literarisches Colloquium Berlin to launch a program aimed at stepping up bilateral literary exchanges between Taiwan and Germany.
The program will also help introduce more translated works from the two countries, the CCA said.
Under the program, set to run through 2012, the CCA will select between two and four Taiwanese writers each year to go live in Germany for a month, while the Berlin literary association will choose two to four German writers to come to Taiwan to engage in interchanges with their local counterparts.
Liu said what interests him most about his upcoming trip to Germany is having the chance to visit the Black Forest. Besides interacting with members of Germany’s literary circles, Liu said he would take the time to enjoy some of the country’s natural beauty. He also plans to take part in this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair and engage in dialogue with local residents.
Aboriginal Tao writer Syaman Rapongan already headed to Germany as part of the program this past June.
During his stay in Germany, Syaman gave speeches at various gatherings, where he used the Tao language and Mandarin Chinese while reciting some of his works. His appearances helped spark interest in his home island of Lanyu, or Orchid Island, among Germans.
Other noted writers who will head to Germany during the next two years under the program are Hung Hung, Tsai Su-fen, Luo Yi-chun, Gan Yao-ming, Wu Ming-yi, Wu Yin-ning and Hsia Yu.
Tsai expressed the hope that the government would support more such exchange opportunities in order to expose Chinese-language works created by Taiwan-based writers to an even larger audience abroad.
“The works by Taiwanese authors are definitely superior to those of their Chinese counterparts,” she claimed.
Meanwhile, young Taiwanese writers Kevin Shih-hung Chen and Wu Yi-wei, currently residing in Germany, will assist in the marketing and promotion of the exchange program to help broaden Taiwan’s literary voice, according to the CCA.
