Shining Stars of Modernism

After the First World War, the United States developed rapidly at a pace unimaginable to the world. Urban civilization changed the face, atmosphere, and daily life of the world at the beginning of the 20th century. The modernization brought about by industrial and commercial activities ushered in an era of great prosperity and shaped the United States into the familiar landscape we know today.

This special exhibition traces American literature from the 1920s to the 1950s, featuring writers such as Hemingway, Faulkner, Fitzgerald, and others. It uses the translations and introductions of American news agencies in Taiwan in the 1960s to correspond to Taiwanese writers, illustrating how they developed their own modernist style in Taiwan through the techniques of Western modernism. With complete works and historical materials of Taiwanese modernism, it demonstrates that modernism in Taiwan is not only a form of transplantation but also carries a strong spirit of innovation.

The exhibition is divided into eight sections: "What is Modernism?", "The Era of War: Disillusionment and Loss of Faith", "Modernist Trends: Literary Styles of the Three Giants", "Classic America: From Hollywood to Literary Acclaim", "American Literature in Taiwan", "The USIS and Literary Magazines, Modern Literature", "The Origins of Creative Writing Workshops: The Iowa Writers' Workshop", and "Telling Our Own Stories with Western Techniques". It also discusses how Taiwanese writers in the 1960s, such as Chen Ruoxi, Ouyang Zi, Wang Wenxing, Bai Xianyong, Zheng Qingwen, Wang Zhenhe, and others, developed the unique appearance of Taiwanese modernism through the techniques of Western modernism.