Homesickness and loneliness sent Chen to literature. He read travel memoirs, kung-fu novels, romances, and works of pure literature. He also read the greats of Western literature. The school's curriculum placed an emphasis on traditional Japanese poetic forms such as tanka, haiku, and kanshi, causing him to gradually develop an interest in poetry, including modern poetry from Japan's Meiji, Taisho, and Showa eras.
寄人籬下的鄉愁與孤獨，驅使陳千武遁入文學世界，從旅遊小說、武俠、愛情、純文藝小說到西方文學名著，由於學校著重「短歌」、「俳句」、「漢詩」等日本傳統文學教育，他的閱讀興趣也逐漸轉移到詩，包括明治時期的新詩體，以至大正、昭和時期的作品。