"Yang Mu (1940-2020), born in Hualien and originally named Wang Jing-xian, initially wrote under the pseudonym Ye Shan. He was a poet of the “Interwar Generation.” During his high school years in 1955, he participated in the poetry journal “Haiou,” which was edited by Chen Jinbiao and published as a supplement to the “Dong Tai Daily.” This was likely Yang Mu’s earliest involvement in literature. In 1958, he moved to northern Taiwan and consequently came to know “modernist” poets such as Wu Wangyao, Yu Guangzhong, Xia Jing, Ye Weilian, Zhou Mengdie, Yaxian, Luo Fu, and Shang Qin. Together, they formed a powerful cultural network and collectively engaging in the process of “modernizing poetry.” In 1959, Yang Mu enrolled at Tunghai University, where he received literary cultivation. He had a particular affinity for the English Romantic poet John Keats (1795-1821) and was influenced by Chinese classical literature and thought under the guidance of Xu Fuguan. Consequently, he straddled Eastern and Western literature. In 1964, he went to the United States for further studies. During his time there, he studied under Chen Shihuang and was inspired by the Chinese literary “lyric tradition,” oscillating between Taiwan and the United States, and the dynamics of “self” and “other.” This allowed him to forge a new spirit and new approach to modern poetry within the Chinese and Western literary traditions. Simultaneously, he reflected on and reevaluated the “nihilistic” poetic style prevalent in the Taiwanese poetry scene, carving out his unique poetic path. As a result, in the late 1960s, Yang Mu began to transform and critically examine his poetic writing. This transformation encompassed not only changes in aesthetic style but also questions regarding the “modernization of poetry” in the Taiwanese poetry scene and the narrative of literary history. This process illustrates the developmental journey of “modern poetry” in Taiwan in the 1950s and 1960s, how it evolved and was practiced, and how it led to the establishment of the native poetry society “Li” in 1964 and the subsequent intense “modern poetry” debates in 1972-73. This reflection allows for a more precise delineation of the early development of “modern poetry” in post-war Taiwan, avoiding broad strokes in discourse and bringing us closer to the narrative context of literary history.