Poet Hoang Tran Cuong: "I molded my heart into a silk ribbon of the Lam River."

(Baonghean)Poet Hoang Tran Cuong, author of the epic poem "Sediment," is considered one of the most representative figures of post-war Vietnamese poetry. To date, more than 50 articles have been written about him, mostly by prominent figures in the literary and journalistic world, along with nearly a dozen dissertations and theses. For a long time, I have also harbored a desire to write about him, about a poet deeply rooted in Nghe An culture, a son far from home who always felt a deep longing and concern whenever he thought of his birthplace.



Hoang Tran Cuong was born in 1948 in Dang Son commune, Do Luong district (Nghe An province). This area was formerly known as Do Dang region (comprising the present-day Nam-Bac-Dang communes), located on the right bank of the Lam River – a picturesque region of mountains and rivers, a land of outstanding people. He belonged to the Mac family lineage, the 21st generation descendant of Mac Dinh Chi, the Two-Nation Scholar (during the Tran dynasty). The people of Dang Son still preserve the couplet: “Do Dang, a sacred land that gives birth to outstanding people / Dang Lam village, with its ancient temple, nurtures talented people.”

As a child, Hoang Tran Cuong lived and studied in Hanoi with his father, attending first grade, before returning to study high school in Do Luong. After ninth grade, his family migrated to Que Vo district, Bac Ninh province. Because of this, some people called Hoang Tran Cuong "The man who carries the waves of three rivers" (Lam River, Red River, and Cau River). In 1970, while in his final year at the University of Finance and Accounting, Hoang Tran Cuong volunteered to join the army and became an anti-aircraft artillery soldier in the heroic 282nd Regiment of the 367th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division. This soldier from Nghe An province faced life and death on various battlefields, from Quang Binh and Quang Tri to Ban Dong - Highway Nine in Southern Laos, then returned to the capital and went to Dong Mo (Lang Son) to fight to protect the skies of Hanoi during the "12-day and 12-night Dien Bien Phu in the air" campaign (1972). In 1975, Hoang Tran Cuong had the honor of being part of the massive army that marched into Saigon to liberate it, contributing to the historic Spring Victory.

After leaving the military, Hoang Tran Cuong returned to school to complete his final year of university. Upon graduation, he was assigned to the South to participate in currency exchange and the transformation of private enterprises (1976-1980). Having completed his duties, he was transferred back to Hanoi to work in various capacities: as a specialist at the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Food, as a reporter for the Vietnam Agriculture Newspaper, and later as the Editor-in-Chief of the Vietnam Financial Times. Currently, he is retired and lives with his family in Hanoi.



Poet Hoang Tran Cuong (far left) with other Vietnamese writers during a visit to Warsaw, Poland.

Poet Hoang Tran Cuong is known for his poetry collections: "Horizon," "Traces of Days," "Sediments," and "Gifts of the Planet." However, most people agree that what made Hoang Tran Cuong famous today is his epic poem "Sediments." This work won first prize in the poetry competition of the weekly literary magazine Van Nghe (1989-1990), the Literature and Arts Award of the Ministry of National Defense (1994-1999), the Vietnam Writers Association Award in 2000, and the Special Prize of the Ho Xuan Huong Award of the Nghe An Literature and Arts Association (1997-2002). Recently, the epic poem "Sediments" won the Golden Rice Cup (1980-2010) jointly organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Vietnam Writers Association, to honor outstanding works written on the theme of "agriculture, farmers, and rural areas." More importantly, "Sediment" has left a profound mark on readers, a work with timeless vitality. With 19 chapters and approximately 2,000 verses, the epic poem "Sediment" is the culmination and crystallization of historical, cultural, and sentimental traditions, a gift the author wished to offer to his homeland in Nghe An province.

Throughout the epic poem "Sediment," we constantly encounter images of a life of hardship, frequently facing natural disasters and enemy attacks: "What enmity do storms have with this land? / They line up in a dark mass at sea / The midday rain hasn't passed, but the afternoon wind has already arrived / Bitterness settles into the green chili peppers / The land is drained dry, the water overflowing like lemon segments / Looking up, one encounters the aching blue sky." And here, the hardship, toil, and anxieties of the people of Nghe An and Central Vietnam are once again personified: "Central Vietnam / The folk songs lie tilted / Above the sun and below the sand / Even the songs are sifted twice / Yet, after being heard, they still linger year after year... / When will you return to visit / This poor land where the morning glory doesn't even have time to fall / The young rice plants are thin and withered / Only the storms thrive like grass / No one sows seeds that cause white patches on people's faces." Through "Sediment," Hoang Tran Cuong also shows us the "layers" of the cultural traditions of his homeland. There you'll find moss-covered village communal houses, the shade of thousand-year-old banyan trees, folk songs and melodies, the Lam River tirelessly depositing alluvial soil, the fairy tales of grandmothers, the legend of the wooden fish... Especially through a system of evocative artistic imagery, the author has generalized the virtues and qualities of the people of Nghe An: diligence, studiousness, integrity, loyalty, decisiveness, kindness, tolerance, and a touch of extremism. Consider these verses: “Like a bowl of pure white eggplant / Salty and crisp / Like strong green tea / Bitter to the lips, yet rich in the heart.” And: “The river is named Lam River / Dreams envelop the vast blue sea / The mountains roar Quyet / Their resolve is as firm as a rock / Oh! Nghe An, Nghe An / The golden land of the past and future / Amidst rain and scorching sun / Still shimmering with color.”

The recurring artistic image in "Sediment" is that of the grandmother and mother. First, it is the author's own grandmother and mother, depicted with deep affection and emotion, becoming a source of spiritual support: "Mother lovingly nurtured the smiles / On the faces of her children during the lean season," and then: "Mother sat kindling a fire in the rain / Raising me amidst water and sky." It is also the embodiment of the homeland, the country, with the author's profound gratitude. In other words, the image of the grandmother and mother is the homeland itself. Even far away, the author always looks towards his homeland with worry about the many changes and ups and downs of life, and with an unceasing pride: "Mother is the sediment of the village's flowers and fruits / Storing all dreams and bringing them into the world / Mother is the sediment of boundless love / The cool green of the sky, imbued with the warm scent of the homeland / Bringing the wind back to the small village / Bringing the rain down to the village well / Bringing white clouds back to the sky to rekindle the sun / Taking sadness out of the village."

From the moment the epic poem "Sediment" was published, it was warmly awaited by readers, and friends and colleagues offered heartfelt praise. During his lifetime, the poet Hoang Cam spared no praise for "Sediment" and its creator: "The author of 'Sediment' is a true poet, a great poet. One must love their homeland, be deeply connected to it, to be able to write like that... Hoang Tran Cuong's poetry is imbued with the essence of Central Vietnam, the essence of Nghe An province. We can pick out each line of poetry like sparkling diamonds. I read it three times, and each time I discovered invaluable details." Nguyen Trong Tao, a multi-talented poet, once confessed: "I already had the epic poem 'Dong Loc' ("The Path of the Stars") and still cherished the idea of ​​an epic poem about the land and people of Nghe An, but after reading 'Sediment,' I abandoned my intention because I knew I couldn't write about Nghe An better than Hoang Tran Cuong." And perhaps for the reasons mentioned, literary critic Thai Doan Hieu has given Hoang Tran Cuong and "Sediment" a prominent place in his book "Modern Vietnamese Poets." There, the critic unhesitatingly stated: "Sediment is perhaps the best epic poem among the great epic poems of the turbulent and bloody latter half of the 20th century." It is known that "Sediment" has been translated into English, and a conference on this remarkable epic poem was held in the United States. Truly, such an honor is not something every writer can achieve.

Reading "Sediments," I found not only meaning and words, but also the author's heartfelt feelings for his homeland, Nghe An, just as poet Thanh Thao said: "It has been a long time since I read such majestic yet bitter verses about my homeland. Stripped bare, the homeland in Hoang Tran Cuong's work isn't the sweet kind like 'Homeland is a cluster of sweet starfruit,' it's agonizing, torn, twisted, chest-tightening, and heart-wrenching." And once you've read "Sediments," you can't forget the line: "Central Vietnam is thin and sharp like bamboo/ Shaping its core into a silken ribbon of the Lam River." The author of "Sediments" added that he hopes and wishes to have enough strength and intellect to continue reflecting on his homeland, to continue contemplating life, and to write new poems about Nghe An in the process of renewal and integration, standing shoulder to shoulder with other countries. It is also a way for the poet to repay his debt of gratitude to his homeland, a land with harsh natural conditions and a difficult but always warm, profound, and full of affection.

Bui Cong Kien