Poet Thach Quy: Stories of poetry, stories of life

With poetry and the incident "With my child"

- Mr. Thach Quy, I once heard that in your early days of writing poetry you set a list of prohibitions for yourself: Forbidden to write words already written by others, forbidden to write thoughts already thought by others, forbidden to write vague things unrelated to the truth, forbidden to write raw, emotionless, and aesthetically unappealing truths. Is that true, and how did you implement it?

Poet Quang Huy told me I'm the poet of worn-out brooms and tattered mats; anything other poets ignore ends up in my poetry. There's some truth to that. My poetry doesn't have roses or lilies, but it does have broom flowers and reed flowers.

Broom flowers fall under the wings of wasps.

White stones are exposed to the midday sun.

Or

The broom flower forest is white, and the reed flower forest is also white.

The birds chirped in the leaves, and I peeked out…

Because I forbade myself from writing about roses, lilies, and bougainvillea, I was forced to write about flowers that no one else wrote about. Not just flowers, but everything, absolutely everything. That's why my poems contain "broken bricks," because since I forbade writing about whole bricks, I had to write about broken bricks instead.

Ultimately, the self-imposed restrictions I set for myself when writing are the strict artistic requirements that I must adhere to. Read any poem, any line in my work, and compare it to the self-imposed restrictions above; you will see that I have followed them completely, strictly, and meticulously.

The water is crystal clear, the snakehead fish is full of food.

Strolling leisurely, I greet each rice plant.

The fish sniffed the muddy footprints in surprise.

Their eyes widened in surprise as they recognized me…

Or

The mountain leans its shoulder, carrying the road up.

Or

The embers from the hearth fell and turned into sparks of fire…

All of these details are true. Very true. But I think that's not a naked truth, a truth lacking in aesthetics. Right? If I were to give an example of how I followed the self-imposed "forbidden list," I could say that most of my poems and verses strictly adhere to that list. I think that the "forbidden list" I set for myself when I picked up a pen might offer young people just starting out in the writing profession something to think about and consider.

- “Neither small nor insignificant, nor great / Can be cast aside in a dark, gloomy corner / Can stand firmly on two feet / I am alone, I am like the rising tide… I am salty with the simple life / I am full of food and clothing, hunger and plenty… I have faced brutality and death / Blood gushes, scars form in my soul / I am so tired I no longer fear death / But my true desire to live remains stronger! (I).” What can you say about that self in your poetry? Have you ever seen it?"His 'rough, unconventional ego,' as one poet once remarked, has caused him difficulties both in life and in poetry?"

That poem is about the Self, but that doesn't mean it's about Thạch Quỳ's individual self. It's the Self within me, within you, within everyone. Why should we cultivate the self, write about the self? If you build a hundred-story building, for it to be sturdy, each brick must be strong. If you want a powerful group, every individual in that group must be strong. The same applies to the entire nation, the entire country!

"I" is a poem that focuses on praising the core qualities, the innate abilities, and the unwavering character within each person as a creative individual. Praising this strong self is also praising the qualities and abilities of each person, aiming for human perfection. It's like we strive for the strength, completeness, and solidity of each brick to build a modern, civilized, and beautiful house. There's nothing to complain about if art and poetry celebrate the beautiful self hidden within the heart, mind, and intellect of each person. Isn't that right?

You want me to say a few words about the feeling of loneliness in the self, right? I think that loneliness doesn't hinder creativity; on the contrary, it's a driving force. It could be said that loneliness motivates people to work, especially in intellectual work. In this world, there are tasks that cannot be shared with anyone, tasks that no one can shoulder together. Who can write in place of Shakespeare, Balzac, Tolstoy, or think in place of Newton, Einstein, or Mendeleev? To cultivate a strong, resilient self, one may also need to cultivate the ability to endure loneliness and solitude...

- Returning to that infamous literary incident, specifically regarding the poem "With My Child," could you recount the story? Looking back on it now, how do you feel?

Frankly, I don't want to bring up old stories. I think the controversy surrounding the poem is outside of literature. If I have to recount it, I'll tell you about things outside of the poem so you know the truth. The truth about human nature, about factionalism and jealousy in people of a not-so-distant past. Why tell it? Every mistake is a lesson. The mistakes of previous generations of writers should also be known so that future generations can learn from them. The incident also leaves a lesson for those entrusted with the responsibility of governing and managing literature and art: Be cautious about things outside of literature! Throughout history, literary works that have been controversial and criticized have often ended up receiving state awards, and the names of the authors who were once criticized are now used to name streets, as in the cases of Phùng Quán, Văn Cao, Vũ Trọng Phụng… for example. Please be very careful!

Happiness is just a concept.

- Mr. Thach Quy, what are your thoughts on the changing values? Do you have any advice for those facing life where everyone seems to feel like "a tiny dot amidst a vast emptiness"? Readers would also like you to explain the line "Happiness is solemn in the desperate search"?

To be honest, I don't dare claim to be more knowledgeable or progressive than anyone else. But I think that everything is changing over time, and inevitably, our perceptions of values ​​must also change. For example, how people perceived, thought about, and evaluated the value of a wealthy person in the past may be very different from how we perceive and evaluate them today. Perhaps actions and thoughts we considered good or right in the past are now forced to re-evaluate in the face of today's reality. I think that's normal, good, insightful, and progressive. Are you perhaps referring to the changes in values ​​that are causing negative and gloomy feelings, with each person feeling like "a tiny dot in a vast emptiness," lonely and powerless in the face of the changes in society, both positive and negative?

I believe that the progress of history is often slower than the fervent but often impatient desires for change in people's hearts. For history, a hundred years is just a moment, but for a human being, a hundred years is the end of a lifetime. People understand the law of history, "what is meant to be will be," but few have the patience to wait for what history "must" bring. This impatience causes a range of emotions in people's hearts. People know that the negative, boring, and depressing things they are facing will eventually pass. But they want those negative, boring, and depressing things to end today. Unable to achieve this immediately, they feel powerless. Lacking empathy in the present and lacking the patience to wait for better things in the future, they feel lonely. Loneliness and helplessness are just normal psychological states and emotions at a time when society still faces many negative aspects and unsatisfactory situations. We hope that these feelings and emotions can also serve as a driving force for aspiration, leading to a transformation of life for the better.

As for the line of poetry: "Happiness is solemn in the pursuit of disappointment," I think it's easy to understand. The folk saying goes, "The fish that got away was the biggest fish." Anyone who feels unsatisfied with what they have will find that what they are searching for in their dreams and aspirations is more solemn, sacred, and beautiful. The more dreams and imaginations they have, the more beautiful their "model" of happiness becomes. Happiness is just a concept, after all.

Thank you, poet Thach Quy, for this interesting conversation!