w88 casino News Network (provided by the w88 casino of Literature and International Communication)On the morning of May 27, 2025, teachers and students from the w88 casino of Literature and International Communication gathered in Huiyuan with guests Christopher Merrill and Tamba Chang from afar for a poetic literary appointment. The salon was hosted by Professor Deng Rubing, Dean of the w88 casino of Literature and International Communication.
Dean Rubing Deng first introduced the guests. Christopher Merrill is the director of the International Writing Program (IWP) at the University of Iowa in the United States. He has served as a war correspondent. He has published seven books of poetry and six non-fiction works, including "Firekeeper". He has won the French government's "Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres" and multiple translation awards. Tamba Chan is a national first-class writer who once served as a Chinese diplomat in the United States. He is now a professional writer at the China Academy of Arts and a columnist for "Shanghai Literature" and "Mountain Flowers". Winner of the 10th Bing Xin Prose Award. He has published "Los Angeles Trilogy" and a collection of essays "There's Somewhere It's 5 O'Clock" etc.
Travel is a mobile classroom: multi-dimensional insights into cultural blending
Christopher Merrill takes the 1960 Nobel Prize winner for Literature Saint-Joan Pace’s experience in China as an example to explain the significance of walking on creation. Inspired by Pace, he retraveled the route from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar in 2008, using trains as a carrier to capture the intertwining of history and reality while moving. He emphasized that poets need to be like "containers" to accept the sounds of the world, and travel is the key to breaking cognitive barriers.
Tamba Chang tells his true experience of living in the United States as a diplomat. A chance encounter with a retired homeless man triggered his association with his father. The shock and grief turned into inspiration for his writing. She believes that the essence of writing is "measuring life with feet", and the portrayal of American social anxiety in "Escape from Los Angeles 2020" stems from this. Only by experiencing everything on the streets can he write the chapters of his Los Angeles series.
Writing is the feeling of the soul: the life experience of knowing the smallest things
At the event site, teachers and students had a lively discussion around "reading, walking, and writing".
Deng Rubing mentioned that she was moved by Tamba Chan's essay "Sew a Soft Pillow". She asked the author: "Why does the American male protagonist in the work embody the Chinese style of 'inaction'?" Tamba Chan said that the male protagonist in the essay is not a fictional character, but a real person - her landlord Jay, who has his own thoughts and kindness. He is a seemingly weak but very powerful and unique character.
When asked "Why write poetry?" Christopher Merrill said that when he was 15 years old, he aspired to become a football player or a poet, both of which are the ultimate interpretation of freedom. He also mentioned that the poetry creation of the famous American poet Merwin and the contemporary Chinese poet Bei Dao often begins with the flash of a few words, triggering a telepathic capture of poetic meaning.
Reading is the resonance of the soul: the wonderful spark of the collision of words
A guest from Sinopec revealed his true feelings at the sharing session. He said that he has been rooted in deserts and wastelands all year round and seems to have been isolated from literature. He wanted to ask how to shorten the distance between himself and literature.
Tamba Sang gave simple and practical advice: you might as well give reading a try. There is no need to force reading a certain book, the focus is on cultivating interests and habits. Christopher Merrill advocates drawing inspiration from reading poetry, quoting the story of golfer Tom Watson who "works hard to create luck", reminding everyone that only through continuous accumulation can we understand the beauty between the lines, touch the fiery soul of the writer behind the words, and finally realize the surge of inspiration when creating.
At the end of the salon, the call to read and the inspiration to write have sown seeds in Huiyuan. Whether it is Tampa's motto of "measuring life with your feet" or Christopher Merrill's expectation of becoming the "conscience of the times", they all inspire teachers and students to go from the campus to the vast world and cast their observations and insights into their pens. This feast of literature, journey and spiritual dialogue lit up the students’ future creative practice.
