T.E.A. Time at DJ House

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.”

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.     

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.”

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 16^th 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.

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 5^th, Guy Fawkes Day. Wonder who will drop by for a spot of T.E.A. then?