Now in its eighth edition, the Tung Blossom Literary Awards has been one of the most prominent awards in Taiwan’s literary field in recent years. Hakka Affairs Council Minister Lee Yung-de was invited to Taipei’s Qidong Poetry Salon (齊東詩舍) on June 4 to join a gathering of Hakka artists — including female poets, a novelist, and a singer — who shared their literary creations. 

Hakka poets Chang Fang-tzu (張芳慈) and Li Yu-fang (利玉芳), novelist Kao Yi-feng (高翊峰), and singer Misa (米莎) gathered to share their experience of creating literary works. Both poets, Chang and Li, recited their verses and poems, and Kao talked about the artistic conception of his micro novel. Misa then played the guitar and sang her songs, which were composed in the form of micro novels. She said that the blues is a kind of music genre that tells a story within 12 verses.  
 

Minister Lee noted that two new categories — Hakka three-line verses and micro novels — were added to the awards this year. He anticipated that more entries replete with Hakka culture will be received and shared with the public.

Lee further explained that the form of Hakka three-line verses is similar to that of the haiku, which is one of the Japanese poetic forms. The haiku consists of 17 words in three groupings of five, seven, and five words, respectively. Instead of the haiku’s 5-7-5 pattern, Hakka three-line verses follow a 5-7-7 pattern. The verses seem short, but it is challenging to express feelings and ideas with limited characters, he added.
 

Writing a micro novel with less than 50 characters is no simple task as well. Lee even jokingly asked novelist Kao whether writing a micro novel proved to be much more difficult than creating 50 thousand words of fiction.
 

This year’s Tung Blossom Literary Awards has four categories — Hakka three-line verses, up to 19 words; micro novels, no more than 50 words; poetry, maximum of 25 lines; and prose, no longer than 3,000 words. The prize money totals NT$860,000 and the application deadline is June 28. Submissions from Taiwanese and overseas writers are welcomed: www.hakkaliterature.tw.