Presidential citation awarded to late Taiwanese poet Li Kuei-hsien

Taipei, April 7 (CNA) A presidential citation was awarded posthumously on Sunday to late Taiwanese poet Li Kuei-hsien (李魁賢), who died on Jan. 15 in Taipei at the age of 85.

On behalf of the president, Culture Minister Li Yuan (李遠) presented the award to the poet's son Li Shih-fei (李斯棐) during a memorial ceremony for his father.

The minister said in a news release that Li Kuei-hsien had devoted his life to the creation and translation of modern poetry, and had used poetry, a universal language, to lift the visibility of Taiwan literature in the world.

The late poet's unremitting passion and dedication to promoting Taiwanese literature will be long lasting, the minister added.

Li Kuei-hsien, born in 1937 in Taipei, began writing poems in junior high school, according to information provided by the Ministry of Culture. His first published poem was titled "Sakura (櫻花)" and appeared in the magazine Wild Wind in 1953, the ministry said.

In 1956, he joined the Modernist, a poetry club led by Chi Hsuan (紀弦), and published his first poetry collection, "Columbarium and Others (靈骨塔及其他)," in 1963.

Li Kuei-hsien was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001, 2003 and 2006 by the India-based International Poets Academy.

During his lifetime, he received numerous prestigious honors in Taiwan, including the National Award for Arts, the National Cultural Award, and the Wu San-lien Literary Award.

His poetry has been translated into several languages such as Japanese, Korean, Romanian, Greek, Spanish, and Mongolian.

In 2016, Li Kuei-hsien launched the Formosa International Poetry Festival in Tamsui, New Taipei, which has been held annually since then.