Chapter Fourteen: Unveiling the Veil of Modern Poetry Teaching in Taiwan
My students make rapid progress. After studying with me for only a year or so, many of them are already able to publish their poems in newspaper literary supplements. Such results are rarely seen in other literary groups. The key lies in the fact that I use two specialized books as the teaching materials for my courses: The Rhetorical Aesthetics of Modern Poetry (386,000 words) and Modern Poetry Creation, Criticism, and Appreciation (305,000 words). Combined with my forty years of practical writing experience, a systematic online interactive teaching model, and continuous discussion of students works, these have become the driving force behind my students progress. Many instructors on the Internet do not possess a complete theoretical framework themselves; some have not even achieved particularly distinguished creative accomplishments. Consequently, all they can offer are fragmented comments. For students who genuinely aspire to improve their writing skills comprehensively, such "scattering flowers from the heavens" style of commentary simply cannot produce meaningful progress. Moreover, every teacher "plays a different tune on his own trumpet." Not only do they fail to reach any consensus, but their opinions frequently contradict one another. The fundamental problem is that they themselves lack a comprehensive theoretical foundation in rhetoric, grammar, aesthetics, poetics, and related disciplines.
Teachers of modern poetry have long failed to receive the recognition they deserve. Even though modern poetry has consistently attracted the largest readership and the greatest number of writers among all forms of creative literature, this situation persists. On the one hand, this is undoubtedly due to the widespread belief that modern poetry is relatively easy to begin writing. Indeed, the entry threshold for modern poetry is only slightly higher than that of prose and considerably lower than that of fiction or screenwriting. On the other hand, most instructors engaged in teaching modern poetry lack systematic theoretical training themselves. As a result, they can only "piece together miscellaneous ideas and patch together random concepts," creating the unfortunate impression that "charlatans are everywhere." When I was seventeen years old, during my second year of high school, I first encountered An Introduction to Modern Poetry, co-edited by Professors Xiao Xiao, Lin Ming-de, and other scholars of rhetoric. After experiencing the profound joy of truly understanding modern poetry, I devoted myself entirely to the theoretical study of modern poetry. Beginning with rhetoric, I gradually expanded my studies into aesthetics, psychology, grammar, and narratology. After twenty years of continuous research, I gradually established my own system of modern poetry theory. Today, after forty years immersed in both the creative practice and theoretical study of modern poetry, I can confidently say that among the younger generation of scholars, no one has yet surpassed my achievements in both creative practice and theoretical research simultaneously. Yet I take no pride in this fact. Instead, it fills me with concern, because I recognize this phenomenon as a generational discontinuity.
The theoretical study of modern poetry and my creative practice have always complemented each other. Under the guiding principle of applying learning to practical use, I entered my "harvest period" as early as my sophomore year in college. I repeatedly achieved outstanding results in university literary awards and nationwide poetry competitions, leaving many of my peers in literature departments astonished. Once I began applying advanced expressive techniques such as abbreviated metaphor, implied metaphor, synesthesia, hyperbole, symbolism, and surrealism directly within my poetic lines, both the texture and aesthetic quality of my poetry improved dramatically. Consequently, the literary merit of my works quickly surpassed that of many of my contemporaries. I then traveled throughout Taiwan, becoming something of a "prize hunter" in literary competitions, until my conscience eventually persuaded me that it was inappropriate to continue monopolizing the stage. From that point onward, I gradually shifted my focus toward serving as a judge and engaging in literary education.
Returning to the subject of this chapter, the teaching of modern poetry should not remain in its current state of "disregarding theory while everyone performs according to his own tricks." Nor should teachers of modern poetry continue to be unpaid volunteers who must sacrifice their own livelihoods and make endless personal contributions. This is a distorted phenomenon, and unquestionably an unhealthy one. No student has ever questioned the legitimacy of a fiction-writing or screenwriting instructor charging tuition, because doing so reflects respect for professional expertise. Why, then, do so many practitioners and enthusiasts of modern poetry generally assume that teachers of modern poetry should not enjoy the same professional recognition accorded to instructors of fiction or screenwriting? I refused to accept this double standard. From the very beginning, I established a tuition-based academy, using my own professional publications as classroom textbooks. After nearly a year of difficult operation, I proved that my persistence was justified.
Students who wish to study the creation and theory of modern poetry should naturally pay tuition. This is simply the principle that those who benefit should bear the cost, and nothing could be more reasonable. Primary and secondary school students likewise pay tuition when studying calligraphy, composition, and other extracurricular arts. Modern poetry education must gradually move away from its current model of voluntary obligation, in which teachers offer free instruction and commentary simply because they are willing to do so. Instead, it should evolve toward a professional educational model in which students pay tuition to earn instruction, and teachers provide professional education. Because I charge tuition, I accept full responsibility for my students learning. I guide them systematically and progressively—from appreciating literary works, to understanding theoretical principles, to analyzing poems, to applying theory in practice, and finally to achieving flexible mastery of those theories—accompanying them throughout every stage of their development.
As for those practitioners of modern poetry who still insist on receiving a "free nutritious lunch," the most I am willing to do is provide electronic copies of my two professional books free of charge for their independent study. Naturally, however, I reserve certain exclusive techniques and professional secrets, teaching them only during my online classes to my own students. It is only fair to distinguish between insiders and outsiders, and it is the only way I can justify the time and tuition invested by those who choose to study with me. Therefore, unless you possess extraordinary insight and are capable of fully comprehending the theoretical systems presented in my two books entirely on your own, your progress will inevitably remain limited. After all, teaching modern poetry should not be regarded as a charitable enterprise. Hu Shih once said, "To reap what you wish to harvest, you must first sow accordingly." Finally, I sincerely advise those who teach modern poetry that even if you possess only half of my abilities, you should never diminish your own professional value by becoming yet another instructor who ignores theory and merely offers casual commentary according to personal whim. Otherwise, you will only spoil those modern poetry practitioners who expect to enjoy a "free nutritious lunch," leading them to believe that every teacher of modern poetry is naturally nothing more than a smooth-talking charlatan pretending to be an expert.
