Jointly reported by:
Rachel Koh Huey Shin Jr2Z3
Tee Jia Xien Sr3D
On 17th July 2021 (Saturday), Kuen Cheng Chinese Language Society organized a webinar featuring Mr. Tay Yi Lun on Contemporary Chinese Poetry. He was a Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) graduate. Currently, he is studying for a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A) at Management & Science University. At the same time, he works in the pharmaceutical industry. In college, he focused on writing poetry and won some literary awards. He published a poetry collection titled “If The Time Had Not Worn Out” (《如果时间尚未磨损》) bidding farewell to the young and frivolous days during his graduating year. The webinar was held from 1 p.m. till 2.30 p.m.. The webinar was held to improve students’ writing skills and prepare students for the upcoming Xiao Sheng Chinese Literature Contest (晓声文学奖), a writing competition held by our Chinese Language Society.
Mr. Tay Yi Lun
Mr. Tay started by asking the students if there are any restrictions for contemporary poems. Students were engaged in a heated discussion on the question. Then, the speaker concluded by stating that contemporary poems do not have any restrictions for length and topic, thus leading to inconsistency and ubiquity of the poems. There are various kinds of poetry such as love poems, image poems（图象诗）, science fiction poems and rhyme poems.
“DNA” is a love poem by Mr. Tay Yi Lun before taking a Biology Exam to memorize the characteristics of DNA.
“Symphony of War” （《战争交响曲》）, an image poem by Chen Li （陈黎）
According to Mr. Tay, a contemporary Chinese poem has to be written in vernacular Chinese (白话文) as it gives off the modern vibes. Therefore, he emphasized that students should not use Classical Chinese (文言文) unless they are experienced writers. Next, students are advised to write their poems in general and use concise language. Lastly, he mentioned that poems need to give readers vivid imagery and room for imagination.
Moving on, Mr. Tay shared some writing techniques for beginners. He suggested that students should create room for imagination by using more nouns instead of adjectives. Furthermore, it is also important to choose words precisely. Students should also refrain from using bombastic words as it is a disruption to readers, he added. Mr. Tay showed a variety of poems and how to apply different techniques. Students were amazed and expressed how interesting those poems were.
Homesickness by 假牙
Mistake, written by Chouyu Zheng was misunderstood as a love poem but the poet himself clarified that it was a poem about war.
In response to this misunderstanding, Mr. Tay shared that this was what he loved about poetry.
The reader’s understanding of the poem can be different from the poet’s, giving it a new meaning.
Finally, it came to the Q&A session. A student asked Mr. Tay about his favorite poetry collection. He recommended some and emphasized that everyone has different aesthetics of poems. A handful of students expressed their common problems while writing poems like what elements should be avoided or caution, how to seek inspiration, and so on. Mr. Tay answered all the questions in a professional and appropriate manner. He also gave some advice and suggestions for those who want to write poems
The accompanying teachers even answered a few questions patiently. As the students responded and reacted actively, the talk had exceeded the original duration. Lastly, the teachers allowed those students who were interested to continue to stay at the zoom video platform to seek answers about poems.
The talk ended with a group photo-taking session. Although it was held virtually, Mr. Tay appreciated the participants’ enthusiasm for poems as well as their respect for the lecturer. He was very happy that a lot of students in our school were interested in contemporary poetry since young people nowadays usually don’t partake in writing it.
Group Photo