150 international poets participate in Vietnam's largest poetry festival.

The Vietnamese literary community is eagerly anticipating three major events taking place in the early days of the Lunar New Year of the Goat: the 3rd Conference on Promoting Vietnamese Literature; the 2nd Asia-Pacific Poetry Festival; and the 13th Vietnamese Poetry Day.

At this point, preparations are basically complete, ready to welcome thousands of poetry lovers from across the country and nearly 150 international poets from 40 countries and territories.

Get ready for Vietnam's biggest poetry festival!

According to poet Huu Thinh, President of the Vietnam Writers Association, this year's Vietnam Poetry Day will feature two stages: one for Vietnamese poetry and one for international poetry.

At the traditional Vietnamese poetry forum, in addition to poets from the Vietnam Writers Association, the organizers invited students from 6 universities, nearly 20 poetry clubs in Hanoi and 8 localities to participate.

In particular, 15 prominent Vietnamese poets will be selected, their poems will be presented in French, and illustrated by a French artist.

Vietnamese Poetry Day took place at the Temple of Literature - National University, Hanoi. Photo: VNA.

The Vietnam Writers Association also selected 100 outstanding Vietnamese poets (who have been awarded the Ho Chi Minh Prize, the State Prize for Literature and Arts, and other prestigious awards) to meet with prominent international writers and poets.

In addition, 10 well-known publishers were invited to introduce their works about Vietnam's struggle for independence to international friends.

Writer Dao Thang, a member of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Writers Association and a member of the Organizing Committee for Vietnam Poetry Day 2015, said that this year's poetry day will combine the youth and traditional poetry stages into a single stage for poetry from a hundred regions, providing space for international participants.

The organizers also set up a booth dedicated to translating poetry (in 4-5 languages) at the Temple of Literature.

The 2015 Vietnam Poetry Day also saw the participation of two forces: the Naval Command and the Border Guard Command, further emphasizing the theme of the Poetry Day, "Towards the Sea and Islands." With this theme, poets will present many excellent works about the sea and islands.

A new feature of this year's Vietnamese Poetry Day is the art street, dedicated to honoring traditional arts such as folk singing and blind minstrel singing, as well as artistic performances in poetry cafes. These cafes will be open until late afternoon, serving poetry lovers.

Promoting Vietnamese literature to the world.

Over the past 10 years, with its integration policy, Vietnam has expanded international cooperation in culture in general and literature in particular, introducing many literary works to foreign countries.

The two previous international conferences promoting Vietnamese literature, attended by numerous writers, poets, and translators from various countries and territories around the world, have contributed to opening up more channels of exchange and opportunities to introduce Vietnamese literature to the international community.

Works such as President Ho Chi Minh's "Prison Diary," poems by Ho Xuan Huong, Vu Trong Phung's novel "The Red Number," Bao Ninh's novel "The Sorrow of War," poems by Nguyen Quang Thieu, and works by To Hoai, Le Minh Khue, Ho Anh Thai, Nguyen Viet Ha, Phong Diep, etc., have reached foreign publishers and readers through diplomatic activities of the Vietnam Writers Association or personal channels.

However, it must be frankly acknowledged that the promotion of Vietnamese literature abroad remains limited. Compared to the thousands of foreign works translated and sold domestically, not many people know or can name the Vietnamese literary works that have been translated and introduced to international friends.

On the other hand, Vietnamese literature has not yet been sought after by publishers around the world.

To contribute to bringing Vietnamese literature to international friends, the Vietnam Writers Association launched a literary translation center last year, which has already begun its first activities to promote Vietnamese literature.

Poet Huu Thinh, President of the Vietnam Writers Association, said that major events of Vietnamese literature will take place from March 1-7 to widely introduce and provide an overall picture of the achievements, values, and unique identity of Vietnamese literature to international friends.

This also serves as a basis for selecting representative works to be translated and published in multiple languages, helping people around the world better understand Vietnam, its people, and its culture, contributing to strengthening solidarity, friendship, and support from the world's people for the Vietnamese people in the cause of national construction and defense; and at the same time, reducing the cultural "import" surplus, especially of literary works.

At this year's conference promoting Vietnamese literature, some countries are sending translators for the first time, such as Brazil and South Africa; a representative from Cuba, after many years of absence, will also return to Vietnam.

Representatives from many foreign publishers, seeking new business opportunities from outstanding literary works in Vietnam today, will also be present at this conference.

During their 7-day stay in Vietnam, international delegates will visit Ha Long Bay, the Vietnam Literature Museum in Hanoi, and the Kinh Bac Cultural Center (Bac Ninh) to listen to Quan Ho folk singing.

Through this event, the organizers will introduce two of Vietnam's world-recognized heritage sites, Ha Long Bay and Quan Ho folk singing from Bac Ninh, to help international writers and poets better understand the country, its people, and its cultural traditions.

On the Vietnamese side, for the first time, 10 prestigious publishers were invited to attend the conference, giving them the opportunity to meet, learn, and share experiences in bringing Vietnamese works to global readers and vice versa.

According to the organizers, this is also an opportunity for publishers and authors to connect...

According to Vietnamplus