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| Janice Fan And Darren Grant; baristas and supporter of spoken arts |
Late Sunday afternoon, Taichung
Educators and Authors had its first T.E.A. Time at DJ House. There was sharing from three creative people and eight participants. It was a humble
start for a vibrant multilingual community of writers and teachers in central
Taiwan.
T.E.A. Time is facilitated by
long-time Taiwan resident and veteran ESL/EFL teacher David Temple. "There
are at least five published English writers living in Taichung. At least two published Chinese writers. There are a number of innovative EFL and Chinese
teachers, too.” Mr. Temple said he has attended writing workshops in Taiwan
from Taipei to Kaohsiung and wanted this gathering to be different. “While
other workshops have English fiction writers critiquing each others’ works in
progress or present themselves as a showcase,” he said, “T.E.A. Time is
bilingual, relishes authors revealing their inspirations and motivations, and
includes educators who create lesson plans with stimulating objectives. We can
share our best practices and inspire each other.”
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| David - on a method to stimulate student discussion |
Darren Grant, a
sci-fi writer himself, and Janice Fan, who opened the café and yoga studio near
Taichung’s Botanic Garden a few months ago have made an atmosphere conductive
for the aesthetically-minded.
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| Takae- alliterative poetry |
“Perhaps
the bohemian atmosphere is not pretentious enough for some , but I believe T.E.A.
Time can be a catalyst for local writers and educators to share their visions,”
explained Mr. Temple when asked about the participants targeted. “Everyone in
Taiwan who has written or taught, in any language, is welcome.”
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| Eason -Dealing with writers' block |
As café guests enjoyed free English tea,
the session began with David giving an invocation by doing an I Ching reading
for the dynamic. Hexagram #62, he said, showed that modesty was the best way to
proceed. The three presenters shared their insights. Takae, a teacher from Waldorf
School, brought an alliterative English 16th century poem that she
showed how to kinetically get her students involved with phonics. David demonstrated
how a controlled composition called “How’s Life?” could segue into a student
discussion of how feelings affect us. Eason, a feature writer, explained how he
breaks out of writers’ block by watching a film in a theater.
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| A splendid free T.E.A. guaranteed for all |
“I defer to other
participants,” explained the facilitator, “and make a schedule of equal time. Whoever
shows up is welcomed.” Darren is philosophical about it. “Sure, people can let
us know what they want to do or they can be vague about it; I don't mind.”
Already, DJ House,
with its delicious pastries, sandwiches and Belgium beer, board games, open mic
and yoga classes is on the minds of a wide variety of ex-pats and locals. “Feedback
will make TEA time different,” says David, “from the authors and educators themselves
as we share what we were thinking when we planned our art; what it means to us
and why we write it.”
The next
T.E.A. Time falls on the first Sunday of November, the 5th, Guy
Fawkes Day. Wonder who will drop by for a spot of T.E.A. then?
