MCLC: literary youth?

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: michel hockx (mh17 at soas.ac.uk)
Subject: literary youth?
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Dear MCLC List Members,

I am interested in the history and connotations of the term wenxue
qingnian 文学青年. I normally translate it as "literary youth" but I am not
sure how much sense that term makes in English. I have seen the Chinese
term used in various ways, some referring specifically to a particular
decade (usually the 1980s), others encompassing a wider range of different
periods. I also noticed that the term can be used in self-reference, i.e.
people writing about themselves saying things like "I am a literary youth."

Is anyone aware of any good studies of this term/phenomenon, either in
Chinese or in English?

Regards, season's greetings,

Michel Hockx
SOAS, London