讀後心得

The poetry collection "Some Shadows Fear the Dark" by 孫得欽 is迎來 the second edition after ten years (2024). Although the arrangement and wording of the poems remain unchanged, a long preface and a long poem titled "Fingers Keep Touching" have been added. This second edition reads like a brand new collection, presenting a sense of coexistence between 孫得欽 ten years ago and ten years later, reflecting multiple versions of the individual. This divergence is particularly evident in the new work, where the philosophical thoughts of the new poems contrast sharply with the strong emotions of earlier works. The book cover design has also been changed to a more simple style, providing a deeper visual effect that showcases the complexity and evolution of the poetry.

Ten years have passed, and Sun Deqin's "Some Shadows Fear the Dark" (first edition, 2014) has welcomed its second edition (2024). The arrangement of the poems has not changed from ten years ago, and the text remains the same, but a long preface and a long poem written in the form of quotations titled "Fingers Always Touching" have been added. Interestingly, this version of "Some Shadows Fear the Dark" reads like a brand-new collection of poems, primarily because it carries a sense of time difference—the Sun Deqin of ten years ago and the Sun Deqin of ten years later are presented simultaneously. Although it is the same person, he is a different him. Just as I am fascinated by Borges' depiction of the young and old versions of himself meeting in his later short masterpiece "Another Man," and realizing the differences in their interests and experiences that make dialogue difficult, this discrepancy of self variants is evident in the second edition of "Some Shadows Fear the Dark."

Especially in the poem "Fingers Always Touching," filled with philosophical reflections and wise quotations, the style is starkly different from the earlier works characterized by flowing love and bold radicalism. The poem mentions: "What occurs without need, we call it celebration; what exists without need, we call it love... Pain is profound... Nothing is more tempting and mysterious than pain, right?" The differences expressed in this poem compared to various emotions and existence mentioned in the earlier "Theology Class" almost showcase a contrast between the sacred and the monstrous.

This contrast reveals a disassembly of the lower and upper halves, seemingly acting independently, much like Italo Calvino said in "The Baron in the Trees," that only after being cut in half can one understand the flaws and incompleteness of all things in the world. This is also the hidden crack in the initial edition of "Some Shadows Fear the Dark."

The page design of the first edition featured a white background with black text and a gray-black background with white text alternately, showcasing different poetic styles. The poems on white paper are like shadows in the daylight, sometimes pure, sometimes heartfelt, sometimes painful, while the poems on gray-black Marseilles paper are akin to the darkness in horror and erotic cinema. These poems boldly and complexly reveal the desires of the human heart. Annie Ernaux also mentioned that everyone is a product of their stories, and these background stories affect writing, including factors like family, culture, and gender roles.

Indeed, darkness and complexity have always been the roots of creativity. The book cover of the new version has shifted from an eerie feel of pink and black to a geometric design of blue, white, and gray, bringing a sense of abyssal vertigo. The internal page layout adopts a white-black-white-gray structure, with the gray section containing the new work "Fingers Always Touching." This visual treatment completely presents the complex evolution between Sun Deqin and his poetry.