Yan Ai Lin

Was born in Tainan, Taiwan, in 1968. She holds a degree in History from Fu Jen Catholic University and has studied in the M.A. program of Language and Creative Writing at National Taipei University of Education. Starting from 2005, Yan starts teaching as a guest lecture at Yuan Ze University, Shih Hsin University, Chen Hsin University of Technology and Science, National Taipei College of Business, and Indigenous Community College. Yan is a former consultant for the Cardinal Tien Educational Center in Taipei, and Editor-in-chief of HARVEST Farm Magazine; she is now Director of the “Poetic Leap” program of Qi Dong Poetry Salon in Taipei. In Yan’s fruitful career as a poet, she has won of many major literary awards, including the Wu Cho-liu Literary Awards for new poetry, the Chinese Literature and Art Literary Award, Outstanding Youth Publish Award, National Outstanding Poet Award, Poet Laureate of Hainan Island Poetry Festival, Poet Laureate of the Reciter Poetry Festival, also her works were selected as the optimal poems by the Epoch Poetry Quarterly for its fortieth anniversary. During Yan’s youth, she was active in many fields, she played bass for a punk rock band, performed in an experimental theater, and also was a member of “Kindle” poetry quarterly and many other indie magazines. These varied experiences are reflected in Yan’s works, opening possibilities of multidimensional sparks in her poetry, allowing other forms of arts to convey their essence. Stone Theatre adapted You Killed Your Love into a poetry theater; Le Voyeur Theatre also has reconstructed a set of her poems into a theatrical performance; in 2014, Magnetism of Children was brought onto the stage of Edinburgh Festival Fringe by Assembly Dance Theatre; Super Vending Machine was composed into a soul-pop song by award-wining singer Lo Sirong; there is also a micro-film based on her two works which are Fruit of a Maiden and Hsinchu Ballad. Her works can often be found as teaching materials for various academic purposes, ranging from junior high school to postgraduate programs, as well.