UTAR Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS) lecturer Wong Lih Lih’s flair in poetry writing earned her a winning spot in the Taiwan 10th Ye Hong International Women Poetry Competition (台湾第10届叶红女性诗奖) in November last year.
Wong, using her oft-used pseudonym “Ling Lu” (零露), had submitted two entries, namely Memorandum(《备忘录》) and In the Name of Dad (《以父之名》). The impressive modern poetries subsequently triumphed over 200 submissions from Taiwan, China, Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America, rendering Wong as one of the eight deserving winners as well as the only Malaysian, with the rest from Taiwan and China.
According to Wong, the judges were amazed that Memorandum, inspired from a computer back-up feature, has long and lyrical sentences pregnant with plenty of unexpected surprises. In the Name of Dad, on the other hand, is a poetry witty by nature but exudes affection which tugs the heartstrings.
“Seeing my work being appreciated is truly remarkable and surprising. It really motivated me a lot,” enthused Wong. The imaginative ICS lecturer also said that the victory is also meaningful as she was able to use her beloved father’s name as a theme for In the Name of Dad. “The world of poetry isn’t something familiar to my dad. Having his name in the poetry and getting acknowledged for that brings a whole new different meaning and experience,” said Wong, who also credited her success to her supportive parents.
“There are also plenty of UTARians from other programmes who are into literary creation. It would be heartening to see the University having its own poetry or literary societies that offer a platform for staff and students with the same passion to come together and share their works,” Wong concluded.
Wong walked away with an award and cash prize of NTD 10000.
Organised by the Cardinal Tien Cultural Foundation (台湾财团法人耕莘文教基金), the annual competition is a tribute to the late Ye Hong (叶红), a talented female poet, and aims to encourage the participation of female writers in creating modern poetries.
拉曼大学 Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman
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