The list of the Finalists of the 18th Tamkang “Wu Hu Kang” (Five Tiger Hills) Literary Award was announced the other day after a meeting at the International Conference Room, Ching Sheng Memorial Hall. As soon as the news came out, controversy from the contenders also followed.

The major theme of the literary endeavors of the college men/women seems to center upon suicide and gay love. For instance, the short story, which won the First Prize entitled “I Want to Tell a Story” celebrates gay relationship. It depicts emotional imbroglio on the campus of TKU. Compared to other works, it is more compact in terms of structure and narration, despite its gloomy atmosphere and tragic ending.

Miss Peng Yu-hsing (Sophomore, Mass Communications) is a big winner. She won a double Honorable Mention for her accomplishment in the Short Story and Essay category. Her counter-ornate style in depicting everything has won the critics universal acclaim, “as if we were experiencing Chung Li-ho’s world again”. That’s their consensus commentary.

The First Prize for the Essay contest went to a work entitled “Self Anatomy”. Like a surgeon general’s needle, it cuts into the author’s mind. Its incisive precision is stunning, the critics all agreed.

The First Prize of the Documentary Report Award Was won by an article entitled “As the Wheel of the History Turns: A 10-Day Sojourn at Beijing University”. The interesting essay has 3 ingredients: it has fun; sometimes it reads like fiction, sometimes like a true story.

Looking at the poetry entrees, it is even more intriguing and shocking, too. The First Prize winner, for instance, is a trio-type of creation: “Feelings”, “Fin de Cenacle”, “Projection”. The imagery the poet utilizes is independent, yet inter-related at the same time. It also achieved a sense of originality and therefore quite imaginative.

Lastly, let’s listen to the bickering voice of the contenders. Mr. Lin Hsin-yue (Junior, English) has won some acclaim but not the First Prize. He claimed that the panel has had prejudice against his work. Therefore, he refused to accept the prize. Prof. Tseng Shou-cheng of the Chinese Department regretted that Mr. Lin sees things this way. Sometime there is polarity between an author and a reader. There is no middling ground between the two---too bad!

Another dissenting voice came from Mr. Cheng Kuo-ping (Senior, Mass Communications). He claimed that because of a slight error done by the editors, the effect of his essay detracts from the sum total intended by him, and that is, they forgot to put the captions for each paragraph for him.

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