To promote the appreciation of poetic art and strengthen international academic exchanges and cooperation, on the afternoon of December 9th, the Department of Journalism and Communication in our college invited Professor Peter O’Leary, who holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Chicago and teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, to give a lecture in the Lecture Hall 915 of the Annex Building of Hongyi Tower on the East Campus. The theme of the lecture was "The Spread and Impact of Chinese Classical Painting in the American Imagist Poetry Movement of the Early 20th Century". More than 50 teachers and students from our college attended this lecture.

At the beginning of the lecture, Professor Peter O’Leary first briefly introduced the life story of Gary Snyder, a renowned American poet in the 20th century. He mentioned that Oriental languages and literatures, especially Chinese literature, had exerted a profound and long-lasting influence on Gary Snyder throughout his life. Subsequently, through introducing the poem "Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems" from Gary Snyder's environmental protection poetry masterpiece "Turtle Island" and the art of ancient Chinese painting, Professor Peter O’Leary guided the students to perceive the imagery and its metaphors in poetry. In addition, he also listed Jack Kerouac, a representative poet of the "Beat Generation", a branch that emerged in American postmodern literature just like Gary Snyder, demonstrating that these writers pursued self-expression that broke away from conventions, and enabling the students to gain a deeper understanding of postmodern literature and its dissemination.

Professor Peter O’Leary's humorous and accessible way of speaking won rounds of applause from the students. He stated that learning Chinese poetry was a novel and interesting challenge and affirmed the significance of mutual learning between Chinese and Western poetic cultures. In the final part of the lecture, teachers and students raised their hands one after another to ask questions and exchanged and shared experiences on how to obtain inspiration for writing poetry.

Through this lecture, the teachers and students in our college gained a deeper understanding of the spread and impact of Chinese classical painting in the American Imagist Poetry Movement in the early 20th century. It not only enhanced their understanding of Imagist poetry but also inspired everyone's enthusiasm for actively participating in scientific research activities.