This special issue brings together three articles reflecting on the curation, circulation, and cultural significance of Taiwan literature beyond the island. Beginning with the National Museum of Taiwan Literature’s participation in the 2026 Brooklyn Book Festival, the first article introduces “slow-cooking” as a metaphor for Taiwan’s layered histories, diverse cultures, and evolving literary landscape, while exploring reading as an embodied and sensorial encounter. The second article examines the curated titles, from translated fiction and graphic narratives to Taiwanese American writing, highlighting how stories travel across linguistic, cultural, and geographical boundaries. Last but not least, the third article shifts attention to a community-based exhibition at Princeton Chinese Language School, exploring how children’s literature, translation, and bilingual learning foster connections to Taiwan across generations. This special issue invites readers to reconsider Taiwan literature not as a fixed national category, but as an evolving constellation of stories, memories, and encounters.
Slow-cooked: Curating Taiwan through Literature and Encounter Written by Chee-Hann Wu and Yi-Jen Yu