The Columbia Sourcebook of Literary Taiwan

This book is a tour de force, bringing together many of the most important documents relating to the history of Taiwan literary criticism and firsthand reflections on writing and the literary scene from leading writers, playwrights, and poets. This volume offers a translation of an impressive array of critical writings on literature into English for the very first time. No other book is quite like it, certainly not in English, and perhaps not even in Chinese. -- Michael Berry, author of A History of Pain and Speaking in Images This vast, poignant, and important sourcebook bears out Taiwan's unique history of literary culture. In these pages we hear a wide range of voices from writers of different times. A must read for anyone who wants to discover the real Taiwan. -- Kang-i Sun Chang, Yale University A treasure trove of writing that offers an intimate view into the complex literary culture of Taiwan across the twentieth century and beyond. In texts ranging from solemn essays and manifestos to diary entries and zany letters to the editor, one watches the ebb and flow of the central questions of Taiwanese literature. The selection and organization of the materials immerse the reader in the various 'debates' (lunzhan) about language, literature, and society as they unfolded in the public discourse within Japanese colonial modernity, Nationalist authoritarian rule, and the new civil society of post-martial law democracy. These fascinating primary works are contextualized with a variety of supporting materials, making the volume particularly useful for teaching the literary and social culture of Taiwan. -- Joseph R. Allen, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Remarkable for its intellectual breadth, this volume represents a full spectrum of views, including some that are flatly opposed. A valuable research tool for many years to come. -- Perry Link, University of California, Riverside This landmark publication will become a guide and inspiration for anyone with an interest in the literature of Taiwan. The sheer range of its materials and the high quality of its translations make this sourcebook an extraordinary contribution to the field. -- Margaret Hillenbrand, University of Oxford The editors of The Columbia Sourcebook of Literary Taiwan have made a remarkable contribution to Taiwanese literary studies by reconstructing these literary fragments-the knit and purl of the deconstructed sweater-into a historical narrative of literary rebellion. Taiwan Review An exhaustive collection... CHOICE Extraordinarily useful... Every library of every university with students studying Taiwanese writing in translation will want to order a copy... students will for sure be waiting in long lines to use it. Taipei Times The Columbia Sourcebook of Literary Taiwan is a true feat of archival compilation... The most expansive volume documenting the evolution of literary culture in modern Taiwan available in English... A crucial index of seismic cultural shifts... The sourcebook should serve as a reminder that Taiwan retains a vibrant, sophisticated literary culture even in the Internet age of digital media. The Journal of Asian Studies