Ming Chi University of Technology (MCUT), in collaboration with the New Taipei City Library and the Taishan Aesthetics Promotion Association, held the awards ceremony for the 2025 “Poetry Writing New Taipei” Modern Poetry Competition on Saturday, November 15, at Shourang Hall in Wugu District, New Taipei City. The competition received more than 300 poetry submissions, from which 41 winners were selected following a rigorous review process, highlighting the diversity and vitality of contemporary poetry in New Taipei City.

　　Originally built in 1916, Shourang Hall is the ancestral residence of the Wu Yu family, a prominent local lineage, and stands as an important repository of New Taipei City’s cultural memory. Since 2020, Ming Chi University of Technology has partnered with the New Taipei City Library to promote local history education and cultural engagement in Wugu District. Through sustained, long-term efforts, Shourang Hall has been transformed from a historic structure into a vibrant cultural space—serving as a hub for community interaction, learning, and aesthetic appreciation. This continued commitment exemplifies the university’s practice of University Social Responsibility (USR), allowing knowledge, culture, and the arts to take root within the community.

　　Literary promotion is a vital component of cultural education. Ming Chi University of Technology firmly believes that poetry has the power to inspire the human spirit, foster emotional connection, and guide people to rediscover beauty and meaning in everyday life. With the support of Principal Wu Bo-Ghing of the Shourang Hall family, the university joined hands with the New Taipei City Library and Dr. Li Tien-Yao of the Taishan Aesthetics Promotion Association to organize this year’s poetry competition. Through poetic creation and exchange, the organizers hope to bring literature into the community while breathing new cultural life into Shourang Hall.

　　To preserve the voices and works of the award-winning poets, Ming Chi University of Technology has also published “Shourang Hall in Poetry—Selected Works from the 2025 New Taipei Poetry Festival.” The collection captures the cityscapes and emotional journeys expressed through poetry. Notably, this edition marks the first time that award-winning poems by migrant workers have been included, allowing lived experiences from the labor frontlines to become part of the city’s poetic narrative. Poetry, long said to “inspire, observe, unite, and express,” reveals New Taipei City’s diversity, gentleness, and inclusiveness through multiple perspectives.

　　Looking ahead, Ming Chi University of Technology will continue to integrate campus resources with local partnerships to further expand literary and aesthetic initiatives. By doing so, the university aims to serve as a vital bridge connecting people and place, culture and daily life—writing, together with the community, new poetic chapters for New Taipei City.

　　Image (No. 1) Description: Wu Chia-shan (fourth from left), Director of the New Taipei City Library; Dr. Li Tien-yao (second from right) of the Taishan Aesthetics Promotion Association; and Pu Yen-kuang (first from left), Director of the Center for General Education at Ming Chi University of Technology, pose for a group photo with the award-winning poets. (Image provided by the New Taipei City Library).

　　Image (No. 2) Description: Award-winning poems are on display at the historic Shourang Hall in Wugu District, where the poets visited the exhibition space and took commemorative photos.

中文：以詩歌豐富新北市的記憶　明志科大 USR 文教推廣行動
This article will be simultaneously published in the SDGs E-paper.