Apartfrom“newpoetry”composedinthevernacularlanguage,thetraditionofclassicalpoetryoriginatinginChinahasalsobeenmaintainedinTaiwan.Wecannotignorethefactthatthosepoetswhocontinuedtocomposeclassicalverse,aswellastheactivitiesoftheirpoetrysocieties,areyetanotheraspectofthediversityofChinese-languagepoeticdevelopmentinTaiwanwhichatthesametimehasuniquelocalcharacteristics.
ProfessorHuang’sorganizationoftheissueincludesanintroductoryessay,entitled“PoemsthatSpeakofTaiwan—SpeakingofTaiwanPoetry”inwhichshegivesabriefsummaryofthehistoricalbackgroundandspecialcharacterofthedevelopmentofclassicalpoetryinTaiwan.
Accordingtohercarefulplan,ProfessorHuangdividedthepoemstranslatedforthisspecialeditionintosixthematicsections:
1)TaiwanandTaiwaneseintheIntersticesofHistory(6poems)
2)CrossingtheOceantoTaiwan,PuttingDownRootsthatGrowAlongwithChineseCulture(5poems)
3)PoemsontheAestheticsofNaturalLandscapeScenery(6poems)
4)Climate,NaturalResources,andFood(6poems)
5)FolkCustoms,Festivals,andSacrificialCeremony(4poems)
6)PoemsExpressingEmotions,SentimentsandCriticisms(7poems)
Inthepoetryselectedforthisissueweseetherich,expansivecontentofclassicalChineseversefromTaiwan.ThatversemanifeststheresponsesofTaiwanesepoetstotheirtimes,tonature,toplacesandtopeople.ItalsoreflectsthemanyfacesofTaiwan’sspecifictemporalandgeographicalbackgroundthroughdepictionsoflocalexperiencesandthelocalspirit.
台灣詩歌的發展，除了以白話文創作的新詩之外，還有繼承中國古典詩歌傳統、延續不絕的古典詩歌創作者及其詩社活動，呈現出台灣漢詩發展的多樣性，同時又有其在地特色。
在黃美娥教授的策劃下，這一專輯的內容，除了詩選以外，本輯還有特地請黃教授撰寫一篇導論〈詩說台灣．說台灣詩〉，簡述台灣古典詩發展的歷史背景和主要特色。另一篇是黃教授撰寫的學術論文，〈實踐與轉化：日治時代臺灣傳統詩社的現代性體驗〉（摘譯）。關於詩選，共選31家，34首，根據題材，分成6個主題，以呈現台灣古典漢詩的特色。在題材上，反映社會和生活的開闊性和呼應歷史和時代的現代性。
