Remember poet Vo Thanh An!

(Baonghean.vn)- Hearing the news that Vo Thanh An, real name Tran Quang Vinh, breathed his last, even though I knew this would happen, I still feel extremely empty.

To me, you are like a respected brother, a talented, honest, benevolent, loyal and affectionate fellow countryman.

I knew his name through poetry quite early, from the years of studying and being a soldier on the battlefield. But I got to be closer to him since I became the Head of the Propaganda Department of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee and especially during the years of working in Hanoi.

First of all, he is a pure son of Nghe An. Pure from his personality to his name Vo Thanh An (Vo Liet commune, Thanh Chuong district, Nghe An province). His overall advantages and disadvantages are: Keeping the spirit, style, and lifestyle of Nghe An in the heart of the capital. He still lives like that despite people's praise and criticism. For him, if someone praises or criticizes him correctly, he is very happy. As for his praise and criticism of others, it is concise, honest, and clear like pruning branches and catching worms. He is a person that power and money can never control, even if he only wants a few polite words.

Poet Vo Thanh An (left) talks with the author.

Vo Thanh An's family and life have gone through many ups and downs of the country. His family has been landlords for generations, and all of them were hardworking, patriotic, and loved their people. The poet's father was also elected by the people as the commune chairman in the pre-uprising period. But when he retired, many of the class complexes were "transferred" to the next generations: Vo Thanh An's dream of going to university became a distant dream. He volunteered to join the army but was not accepted because the army during wartime required basic people. Every day, he carried his plow to the field, patiently working to wait for the right time.

Then a piece of good news came to him: The Party and the State decided to select a number of young people with foreign language talent to study Russian for 2 years to become interpreters for experts from the former Soviet Union who came to help Vietnam build thermal and hydroelectric power plants. He passed the exam and left his homeland from there. After graduating, he became a Russian interpreter, then an emulation and commendation officer of the electricity industry and became a famous writer and poet of the country today. Talking about those difficult years, he confided very kindly: When the whole village and commune were like that, why blame? Consider it a social accident that belongs to the past, forget it for peace of mind, tormenting yourself only makes you suffer. Moreover, there were times when the times were harsh, then the times opened up for us the opportunity to contribute to have everything we have today: Having a house to live in the middle of the capital. Having well-behaved children and grandchildren. Having poetry and literature to leave behind. That was happiness. Every time I sat down to talk with him, I realized that the poet's mentality was always stable. Even though times changed, he was still optimistic, loved life, loved people, respected his fellow countrymen and valued his colleagues.

Poet Vo Thanh An.

Vo Thanh An is a person whose interests when young and when old are very different. Even opposite. If in his youth he liked 3 things the most: strong tea, strong alcohol, and traveling a lot, then in his old age he only has rice, vegetables, water, and meditation. Every year he only leaves the house once, which is for the literary and artistic meeting of the Van Nghe Newspaper at the end of the year. Yet every time we chat with him, he knows quite well everything about heaven, earth, and the world. Vo Thanh An is truly a relaxed, sensitive person, always in tune with the times.

I remember in the early 90s of the last century, I defended my PhD thesis in economics at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics. The poet attended from beginning to end. When I finished defending, the poet came up to present flowers and said a few words: "You defended and answered the Council concisely and clearly... I hope you will achieve more success". I was very touched by the care and encouragement he gave me.

Recently, I am preparing to publish some books and poems that summarize practicality. The poet told me to write them soon, "If you are still healthy, please review them." He advised me to write selectively and carefully so that the people will like them but the authorities will not be offended. I replied: That means the people will like them but the officials will tolerate them, right? He smiled heartily as if he had been answered to his heart's content. To me, that was the advice of a brother and also a writer with sensitive and standard political consciousness, even though he was not a party member.

For nearly 2 years now, he has been struggling with a serious illness: prostate cancer. Occasionally, when we visit him in the hospital, in the clinic or at home, wherever we meet him, he is as optimistic as a healthy person to encourage us. He said: "Reincarnation has good and bad luck, prosperity and decline, and being 75 years old is already a profit!" In recent days, his health has been deteriorating, but he still tries to endure, trying to appear normal so that everyone can feel more secure when saying goodbye to him and leaving. Vo Thanh An is that kind of person, not wanting to bother anyone, always for everyone until the last moments of his life.

Dear Mr. Vo Thanh An, your passing has truly left a void in my heart. So you have returned to your wife in eternity. Not knowing what else to say, I write these lines as a stick of incense to pay my respects so that you may rest in peace and comfort in that far away place…

Le Doan Hop

Honorary Chairman of Vietnam Digital Communications Association