Prof Rex Hou explores tidal poetics and archipelagic joy in Kritika Kultura lecture

On 8 September 2025, Kritika Kultura, in collaboration with the Literary and Cultural Studies Program, the Ateneo Institute of Literary Arts and Practices (AILAP), and PLUME, hosted a lecture by Prof Rex Chien-Chou Hou of National Quemoy University, Taiwan. The lecture, titled "Tidal Poetics and Archipelagic Joy: Grace Hsieh-Hsing and the Taiwan-Philippines Literary Bridge," was held at the NGF Conference Room, De la Costa Hall, Ateneo de Manila University.

The program began with Sharmaine Hernandez of AILAP, who welcomed the audience and introduced the Kritika Kultura Lecture Series as part of the journal's commitment to fostering interdisciplinary dialogue. She then invited Dr Patricia P Lambino, Dean of the School of Humanities, to deliver the opening remarks. Dr Lambino underscored the importance of continuing transnational conversations in literature and culture, framing the afternoon's discussion as part of a broader intellectual exchange. Hernandez later introduced the guest speaker, presenting Prof Hou's scholarly and creative background as a poet, Sinophone writer, and associate professor of Chinese Studies at National Quemoy University.

In his lecture, Prof Hou examined the works of Grace Hsieh-Hsing (1938–2021), a Taiwan-born poet who migrated to the Philippines in the 1960s and later became a Filipino citizen. He proposed the concept of "tidal poetics" to describe how Hsieh-Hsing reimagined the Philippine archipelago as a metaphor for artistic creation and cultural identity. Through close readings of her trilingual poetry in Chinese, English, and Filipino, Hou highlighted images such as balut, jeepneys, cockfighting, and kamayan feasts that rooted her work in Philippine culture while simultaneously engaging Taiwan-Philippines connections.

Hou emphasized that Hsieh-Hsing's Filipino identity was an act of choice, reflecting her commitment to her adopted home. Her involvement in the Southern Island Poetry Society exemplified her efforts to create literary communities that transcended Cold War boundaries. He also contextualized her works, Halo-Halo: Poems of the Philippines and Floating Life, Poetic Shadows, within the broader framework of Philippine Sinophone literature and the Philippine Sinophone Poetry Exhibitions featured in Taiwan's Sunshine Collection. The lecture concluded with Hou reading selections from his own poetry, reflecting on how Hsieh-Hsing's poetics continues to inspire contemporary creative dialogue.

During the open forum, participants raised questions on identity, diaspora, and the possibilities of archipelagic poetics in rethinking cultural and historical ruptures. The event ended with Dr Vincenz Serrano, Editor-in-Chief of Kritika Kultura, delivering the closing remarks, where he thanked Prof. Hou for his insights and emphasized the journal's ongoing commitment to creating spaces for critical and creative engagement.

The lecture formed part of the Kritika Kultura Lecture Series, which provides a platform for scholars and writers to share emerging work in literature, culture, and critical theory.