NTNU students win Taipei Literature Award
Two NTNU students have been honored with this year's Taipei Literature Awards for their literary creations.
Hsu Shun-chieh (許舜傑), a PhD student of Chinese, won an award for his short story, The Incredible Left Hand (不可思議的左手). The narrative explores a family rift that occurs after an elderly man finds he has become left-handed overnight -- a taboo in Taiwanese society -- and goes to lengths to hide it from his family.
The biggest challenge for Hsu was adopting the voice of a 73-year-old, he said. But he soon came to a realization; a man may get old, but he's the same at heart as when he was young. Hsu, who was born left-handed, spent about a week of non-stop writing before he finished his story.
In the stage drama category, the runner-up award was granted to Li Lu (李璐), a senior in the Chinese Department, for her play, "Discard Me on the Beach like a Puffer Fish" (將我如河豚棄置沙灘上). The work was commended for channeling the spirit of acclaimed Japanese author Haruki Murakama, but also recieved criticism for being difficult to understand.
Li said that the opacity of her work is intentional, as it leaves room for the play's director to execute his or her version. The author said she was inspired by a trip to Taiwan's Baishawan (白沙灣), where she saw a fisherman abandon a puffer fish he had accidentally caught to die on the sand.