A Loose Yet Effective Link: Some Creative Aspects of Comparative Literature

Abstract As a promoter of the literature of Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples, our most important task is to foster a relatively open and relaxed environment to encourage our people to continue and perpetuate their interest and vitality in “creative writing.” The purpose of this essay, by focusing on the aspect of “creative writing” and based on actual practice, is to raise several controversial issues that can influence writing for consideration. First, we deal with the strategic question of the choice of “language” that Indigenous literary creation must face; second, we examine the problem of “literariness” and “realness” in Indigenous literary creation; finally, we clearly pinpoint the distance between tribal and national imagination, in order to prevent Indigenous literature from being kidnapped by the so-called “national identity” in contemporary Taiwan.