Letters to the Island of Dreams: 小草之夢島書寄

A little while ago I was invited by the talented Mr. Peter Chin (秦政德), founder and "Volunteer Worker No. N" of Xiao-Tsao (literally, "young grass") Academy of Art 小草藝術學院, to write a poem accompanying an old photograph of two Shanghainese ladies in their fineries, as I have shown a deep interest in vintage fashion, the faded grandeur of those bygone days in China (especially Shanghai), and of course, poetry. The old photograph is entitled "Chine - La Mode de Shanghai" and would then be published as postcards, amongst many other wonderful works of Xiao-Tsao. What is unique about the publications of "Young Grass Academy" is that all the postcard images you see are of the actual photographs, old maps, old postcards, magazines, posters, book covers, pictorials etc., most of which from Mr Chin's personal collections over the years, rather than taken from second-hand sources (internet, later-published anthologies or other collectors' books). Each image tells an immediate story of that specific time and its history, and most of Xiao-Tsao's poscards are deeply rooted in/related to the love of this small yet beautiful island, Formosa, the place that is forever and always our home, and where Mr. Chin calls his "Island of Dreams" (夢島).

I came across Xiao-Tsao's publications completely by chance in one of my favourite Eslite bookstores in Taipei, and almost wanted to buy every single postcard I saw on the rack that day - it was without a doubt love at first sight. All the images on the postcards are made even more personal and special by the little poetry printed on the back, mostly written by Mr. Chin himself (an artist, collector, activist, and now also a poet!). I have been a collector of postcards since pre-university days in London, when I first started reading history of art, and to this day my favourite postcards are produced by Xiao-Tsao. I couldn't help but wonder the fact that I encountered Mr. Chin's works at that time is some kind of kismet (although I do believe that sooner or later, my passion for vintage ephemera will lead me to Xiao-Tsao eventually, if not at that point in my life)... When I was invited to write poetry for Xiao-Tsao's publications/postcards, I was, needless to say, incredibly honoured and accepted with great pleasure straight away. Although it has been quite a long time since I did any 'creative writing' (and even longer since I last wrote a poem), the sepia-toned photograph, its tinted colours and the two girls gave me instant inspirations that the poem naturally flew from my fingertips (in my experience I have never written poetry in any other way)...

稚女思緒如織金花綉繾綣包裹住的青絲
玲瓏金蓮 漫遊一地軟呢抽象圖騰
卻是窗櫺內的宅院
紺碧絲絨如海波浮湧垂墜
細膩地框裱著
兩人凝滯於時空的容顏

When I returned home this evening I received a package from Mr. Chin - there are the new postcards featuring my poem, another stack of postcards with an image of my Mr. Poetic Oneirism Mei Lanfang's old movie poster (great minds think alike, this is one of my favourite Xiao-Tsao postcards!), a seriously gorgeous selection of Xiao-Tsao's other publications, a thank-you note with Mr. Chin's wonderful handwriting on a thick, heavyweight Eileen Chang postcard with silver frame, and a beautifully, delicately handmade wooden box "Letters to/from the Island of Dreams" (夢島書寄) with his even more beautiful calligraphy on the cover. This package is the best gift I have ever received and it made my day so completely. Thank you Peter!!

I must sincerely thank Mr. Chin again for his very kind invitation and more importantly, for bringing me back to poetry writing again. It has been a real pleasure to work with you and an honour to be featured in Xiao-Tsao postcards. I look forward to many more collaborations with you in the future.

*To see more:
Xiao-Tsao Academy of Art on Facebook
Xiao-Tsao's archives of publications (click on each bold-font link for more)