Vietnam Poetry Day: Honoring the good values ​​of poetry

On the full moon day of the first lunar month of the year of the Cat 2023, it will be exactly 20 years since the Writers' Association organized Vietnam Poetry Day. On this occasion, the reporter had a conversation with three poets Le Vi Thuy (Gia Lai), Ly Huu Luong (Hanoi), Phung Thi Huong Ly (Bac Kan) - authors who performed poetry at the Young Poetry Stage, Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam about Vietnam Poetry Day.

PV:As an author who has been attached to poetry since his first literary career, how do you feel about Vietnam Poetry Day?

Poet Le Vi Thuy.

Le Vi Thuy:Vietnam Poetry Day is a day to honor the achievements of Vietnamese poetry, including authors, readers, and poetry lovers. I think Vietnam Poetry Day is gradually becoming an indispensable poetry platform for authors and poetry lovers, an opportunity for everyone to learn, interact with authors, share and feel the messages through their favorite works. This is also an opportunity to bring poetry closer to the public.

Ly Huu Luong:We are still proud that Vietnam is a land of poetry. Poems about the homeland have given rise to eternal dreams, perfecting the aesthetic human heart of the Vietnamese people. It is thought that the position of poetry has increasingly been obscured in the hustle and bustle of modern life, so taking a day to remember, to honor, to think about poetry is very precious. It is worth maintaining and should be increasingly expanded, having more positive meanings for society.

Phung Thi Huong Ly:I feel that Vietnam Poetry Day is a very important cultural festival at the beginning of the year, to honor the values ​​of poetry, a very useful playground to meet the public's need to enjoy poetry and art. In the atmosphere of Poetry Day, the public feels a warm, poetic and enthusiastic space, enjoying art by reading and listening to unique poetic works through the voices of typical poets and authors. At the same time, the atmosphere of the festival also creates a positive and abundant source of energy, encouraging writers to be creative. Along with the Organizing Committee always innovating the way of organization, selecting many new poets and quality, rich works to read and perform to help Poetry Day become more successful, so the public loves and looks forward to it more eagerly.

PV:Can you share your feelings when performing poetry at the Young Poetry Stage, Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam?

Le Vi Thuy:Being introduced and invited by the Young Writers Committee to read poetry at the Young Poetry Courtyard, Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam in 2014 was a great honor and pride for me. Eager, expectant, and nervous were my feelings when I was able to read poetry with my brothers and sisters from all over the country, and to meet many great poets - whose works I had only read in books and newspapers.

It was the first time I read a poem in front of so many people, so the nervousness and anxiety made me forget the cold in the 12 degree Celsius weather to perform my poem well without making any mistakes. This was truly a memorable occasion, an opportunity to exchange and meet writers from all over the country, a wonderful thing in my writing career.

Ly Huu Luong:I had the honor to appear and perform 4 times at the Young Poetry Stage, Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam. I was very excited and each time I participated, I felt more mature and confident on stage.

Poet Ly Huu Luong.

Phung Thi Huong Ly:Reading poetry on the Young Poetry Stage at the Temple of Literature is an honor and also a "big event" in my creative journey, giving me the opportunity to experience a range of interesting and profound emotions. Before, I felt that writing poetry was difficult, but when I actually stood on a luxurious stage, with a large audience, poetry lovers, and presented poetry with my own expression and voice, I realized that this was also a big challenge. How to make those words and sounds touch the listeners and viewers to make a certain impression was indeed a pressure, but when I immersed myself in the emotions of the poetry and caught the attentive eyes of the viewers, I overcame the psychological barrier.

PV:And performing poetry on Vietnam Poetry Day must have had some significance for your creative journey?

Le Vi Thuy:I think, performing poetry on Vietnam Poetry Day is a source of motivation for writers, because this is not simply a poetry reading session to exchange with each other, but also a recognition and self-affirmation.

As a poet who writes in free verse, innovative in both writing style and language, my poems are quite selective in their audience, but since I started writing, every year on Vietnam Poetry Day I have been honored to be chosen to read my poems to the public and poetry-loving readers in my home province. This is a recognition and encouragement from my predecessors for the small contributions of a young writer like me to the country's literature.

Ly Huu Luong:Creativity is a journey with a destination but no limit. It would be dishonest to say that Poetry Day is a destination. However, performing on Poetry Day is also an opportunity to appear, to bring your poetry to a large number of poetry lovers, which is very interesting and worth the investment.

Phung Thi Huong Ly:Thanks to performing poetry at the Temple of Literature, I have the opportunity to introduce my poetry to a large audience, to meet and listen directly to the sharing and feelings of poetry lovers about my work. Along with joy and pride, I am always grateful to the Young Writers' Committee for choosing me as one of the young authors to read poetry at the Temple of Literature on the occasion of Vietnam Poetry Day (Poetry Courtyard 2011). This is not only the recognition of the Organizing Committee for my poetry writing process but also a gift of encouragement and creative spirit for a young author like me to have enough passion and enthusiasm to accompany the flow of poetry in the country.

Poet Phung Thi Huong Ly.

PV:In your opinion, to make Vietnam Poetry Day at the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam and in other localities more attractive and have more influence in life, what should the Vietnam Writers Association and local Literature and Arts Associations do?

Le Vi Thuy:In my opinion, to make Vietnam Poetry Day at the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam and in other localities more attractive and more influential in life, the Vietnam Writers Association and local Literature and Arts Associations need to innovate their thinking in making poetry programs with different changing contents. They should not be limited to the framework of the stage, the performer reading the poem and the audience sitting below listening to the work. Sometimes we need to erase that boundary, making the listener a participant in the poem, which will be more interesting.

In addition, in today's technological age, creating online poetry exchange programs will also contribute to spreading more widely in the community of literature lovers.

Ly Huu Luong:In my opinion, we need to pay more attention to the ceremony, a ceremony that is respectful and sacred, so that it can be imprinted in the minds of generations. If we only focus on the festival, creating a stage for the dignitaries to read countless poems, neither good nor bad, it is very dangerous, gradually losing the atmosphere, gradually fading the sacredness of Poetry Day. Poetry Day is not only a space to listen to and read poetry, but must also have a combination of folk games and "poetry tents" for people to perform.

Phung Thi Huong Ly:In my opinion, to make Poetry Day attractive and influential in life, many factors are needed such as constantly innovating the organization, the venue, the quality of the works introduced and performed, and most of all, a literary and poetic atmosphere with the participation of a large audience.

PV:Thank you guys!