Writers on Campus

This article was written by Oscar Chung and published by the Taiwan Review on February 1, 2006. It reports that Taiwan's schools are trying to forge a closer link between writers and students. Through the writer-in-residence program, many established writers are able to expose students to literature via lectures and other activities. Students, in turn, are given a chance to explore literature as a beautiful tradition that can be both modern and creative.

These writers provide an alternative to the traditional style of learning and teaching, where students are expected to learn whatever their teachers taught them. Through the writer-in-residence program, students learn to analyze creative writing techniques and to bridge the often seemingly unbridgeable gap between the desire to write and the actual creation of literature.

The Taipei First Girls' High School is one of the few high schools in Taiwan that regularly invites writers to the campus. It started its writer-in-residence program in 2003. On the other hand, the program is more popular in universities. The National Central University was the first to appoint established writers to its campus, in 1995, via a special project sponsored by the Council for Cultural Affairs.

In general, universities try to expose their students to various genres of literature and to let them hear the voices of all sorts of writers. Many writers also consider the program beneficial, as they get to talk to their readers, to closely examine their own works and careers, and to understand what is on the minds of young people today.

While some universities invite writers to give lectures and host seminars, others ask their writers to live on the campus and teach, like real teachers. These real "writers-in-residence" are encouraged to interact with their students as often as possible, through formal workshops or informal gatherings. As students get to know about these writers, they are also finding their own voices in their attempts to become writers themselves.