台灣文學英譯叢刊》關注台灣文學作品及其脈絡，繼51期出版了葉石濤的開創性著作《台灣文學史綱》後，本輯再將洪淑苓教授主編的《臺灣文學史讀本》，分為兩期收錄，本期收錄洪教授的緒論和前七章。內容涵蓋晚明以來台灣的文學表達，並包含若干章節探討從有記載的歷史到現代的詩歌。
The reason for exploring Taiwanese literature from an island perspective can be found in the large number of Taiwan’s surrounding islands. In the planning of this volume, we have chosen to introduce the works of thirteen writers. When necessary, we will mention other works depending on the situation. However, due to limited space, the size of the text samples is restricted, so naturally it is impossible to cover everything. Generally speaking then, the purpose of this volume is to regard the texts of Taiwanese literature as reflections of local island perspectives in the hope of demonstrating the significance of Taiwan’s experience to island researchers around the world.從「島嶼」視角探討台灣文學，本質上係來自於台灣及其周遭島嶼數量可觀。面對為數可觀的島嶼，究竟要如何進行觀察？取徑現有島嶼或群島研究，如曹永和「台灣島史」及格里桑、郝歐法「群島」觀點探討的島嶼和島嶼之間的連結脈絡。大抵，本次專輯策畫，主要是介紹13位作家作品，偶況言及其他作品旨趣是將台灣文學的文本書寫，視為本地島嶼視線的折射，期盼能從中向世界的島嶼研究者展示台灣經驗的意義。
