Remembering the poet 'The bridge connecting the shores of joy'

Poetry brings poets into resistance

Over half a century of writing poetry and articles, Phan Van Tu left behind 7 poetry collections, 1 collection of essays, mainly poetry reviews, introductions to poems, and poetry collections of friends, including poetry collections that won 10 central and local awards. It was truly an impressive legacy, but because the poem "The Bridge Connecting the Shores of Joy" was so famous, people used the poem instead of his own name.

Phan Van Tu was born in 1940 in Lien Tri village, Lien Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district. He was born into a farming family but soon absorbed the quintessence of the village with a rich cultural tradition. At the age of 19, Phan Van Tu left his hometown for Hanoi to study at the Central Commercial School. From 1962 to 1971, he was an officer of the Yen Bai provincial Department of Commerce. In 1961, he had his poems published in newspapers, including Nhan Dan newspaper, Van Nghe Quan Doi newspaper, and Tien Phong newspaper.

The circumstances of the composition of this famous poem are also very special. On the night of September 28, 1971, in the forest of a Meo village in the highlands of Yen Bai, wandering on a suspension bridge by the stream, listening to young men playing the flute to call their lovers, below the bridge were girls washing clothes under the moonlight. Seeing and hearing both sides calling their lovers with the flute, that whole night, Phan Van Tu in a moment of ecstasy finished writing the poem "The Bridge Connecting the Shores of Joy".

The bridge is our meeting place
Moonlit night on the bridge he plays the flute
Moonlit night by the bridge I wash clothes
Bridge connecting the shores of joy…

The poem was first published in Nhan Dan newspaper at the end of 1971 and was sung by artist Linh Nham in the poetry section of Voice of Vietnam Radio, then published in Tien Phong newspaper in the newspaper's good poetry section. And at the end of that year, as predicted by the poet:He joined the army and built a pontoon bridge across the stream.

Some works of poet Phan Van Tu.

Phan Van Tu joined the army, crossed Truong Son to the battlefield in the Southeast, joined the Liberation Army's Literature and Arts force, both directly fought and published in newspapers to serve the sacred resistance war against the US to save the nation.

In 1974, the poem “The Bridge Connecting the Shores of Joy” was composed by musician Van An and performed by artist Quy Duong and a female group on the radio. Phan Van Tu’s poem, given wings by musician Van An, had a profound influence on the public, had the power to move and awaken millions of people, became a traditional song of the engineering corps, of the heroic army, a song that has endured through the years.

Poet Phan Van Tu (second from left) with his artist friends. Photo: Vo Ngoc Son, taken in Da Lat in 2008.

In 1975, Phan Van Tu and his comrades marched to liberate Saigon Gia Dinh. In 1975, he left the army and became a reporter and editor for Nghe Tinh Radio Station, later Nghe An Radio & Television Station. From 1976 to 2001, for more than 25 years, he worked tirelessly, writing and editing poetry, being both a poet and a journalist.

In the choir of the generation of poets fighting against the US to save the country with epic, romantic, heroic voices, Phan Van Tu still has his own voice, his own tone of a poet that is both delicate and new, of which "The Bridge Connecting the Shores of Joy" is a typical example. With only 14 talented verses, from the sound of the flute and the image of love between couples, the boy playing the flute, the girl washing clothes have expressed the great feelings of the young generation of a nation... In peacetime, Phan Van Tu's poetic voice is more calm, more introverted.

People who like to "sit in the back seat"...

In 1987, Phan Van Tu's art department of Nghe An Radio and Television Station went to Tran Phu Party School to attend a Party course. After the course, everyone wrote a report, and Phan Van Tu sent the school a poem called "Thinking about the Party".

I have two hairs on my head but am not a Party member yet.
Maybe one day I will be in the Party ranks.
Maybe I'm on the side of the road contemplating
But the Party is always in me.

And the poet predicted unusual signs within the Party:

When the deep voice rose
Someone stood with his head bowed solemnly in silence.
But in the heart still full of calculations
Hands in pocket counting money

After its publication, the poem created mixed public opinions, some praised it, some criticized it. In the early years of the reform, Phan Van Tu dared to look straight at reality, with deep feelings from his heart and soul thinking about the Party. Many of his poems such asRemember Giat, Hang Thau, Around the wine mat...are all his efforts to innovate his perspective and expression.

Poet Nguyen Van Hung commented: Phan Van Tu is the one who connects the happy shores through the waves. That's right, with over 25 years as a literary editor, Phan Van Tu is like a diligent bird sitting and picking up each grain of good and bad poetry, each good verse, each good poem to choose for broadcast. In his role as an editor, Phan Van Tu has discovered and encouraged many young writers, some of whom are members of the Provincial Literature and Arts Association, some of whom are members of the Vietnam Literature and Arts Association, some of whom have given up halfway and cannot pursue a career in poetry, but those who have come into contact with him truly see him as an honest, kind, and trustworthy person.

I read his poems from 1972 - 1975 in the forests of the Southeast, but I knew him and became friends with him at the end of 1984 when I returned to my hometown Yen Thanh to write history and joined the Song Dinh literary group with Nguyen Xuan Phau, Huy Huyen, Phan Tuong Huy... Since 2003, the Yen Thanh Literary Association was established, I shared the hardships with him, fostered and built the local literary association, edited with him many poetry collections of friends, schools, and districts, and learned many valuable virtues from him.

Short stories about the poet from the rice fields

On Qingming Festival that year, one day, Nguyen Xuan Phau and Phan Van Tu, along with me, invited each other to go to Tran Huu Thung's house to play. I borrowed a motorbike to take them there. My wife filled a jug of wine, and when we passed Hom Hop Thanh market, we stopped by to buy a dozen wild birds, first as a gift for the author of "Visiting Rice", and then as a snack.

Poet Phan Van Tu (3rd from right) and artists on a field trip. Photo courtesy

When we arrived at Phu Dien intersection, we met two traffic police officers blowing their whistles and asking for papers. I was shocked that I didn’t have a vehicle, so how could I have a license? Nguyen Xuan Phau quickly explained: I am Nguyen Xuan Phau - a writer, driven by poet Ngo Duc Tien, along with poet Phan Van Tu, author of “The Bridge Connecting the Shores of Joy”, to visit Tran Huu Thung in the Dien Chau hospital dormitory. To tell you the truth, we forgot to bring our papers, please let us go”. Hearing Phau say that, the two police officers were surprised, one of them asked: “You are the author of “The Bridge Connecting the Shores of Joy”? Tu frankly answered: “Yes, I am Phan Van Tu, author of “The Bridge Connecting the Shores of Joy”. Hearing that, the police officer hugged Tu: “Oh my god, you guys keep singing my songs and today we are lucky enough to meet you. Okay, you guys go ahead, but next time remember not to download the song”.

Another time, poet Quang Huy went to his wife's hometown in Yen Thanh to visit, and invited poet Phan Van Tu and me to join a meeting at a small pub. At that time, poet Quang Huy was the Director of the Cultural Information Publishing House, a member of the Executive Committee and the head of the Writers' Association's inspection committee. During the meeting, he told poet Phan Van Tu: "Phan Van Tu should apply to join the Writers' Association. Tran Ninh Ho and some classmates from the second course of Nguyen Du Writing School reminded me to go to Nghe An this time, so I should remind Phan Van Tu to apply to join the association." Phan Van Tu smiled: "Thank you Quang Huy, thank you everyone, I'm fine with being a member of the Provincial Literature and Arts Association." On the way back, Phan Van Tu told me: "Whether you are a member of the Central or Provincial Association, what matters is your work."

Lien Thanh Commune (Yen Thanh). Photo: Anh Tuan

After the day poet Phan Van Tu passed away, on July 12, 2014, my children and grandchildren, based on his posthumous poetry, according to his wishes, we selected 164 poems printed in 7 of his poetry collections and 21 poems written about him by friends, to print into the collection "Looking Back" published by the Writers Association Publishing House in 2015, printed together with the poetry collections Yen Thanh, Van Yen Thanh... as a summary of his entire poetic life - also a stick of incense from Yen Thanh literary and artistic friends to remember him, the poet of the rice land.