The Story of a Poetry Lover

(Baonghean.vn) -There was a woman who quietly sat selling traditional medicine at a corner of the Phuong market (Thanh Giang commune - Thanh Chuong) and was called a "female poet" by the locals. No one remembers how many poetry collections she and her fellow poets in the "Tam Nuong Xu Phuong" poetry group had published. The person we are talking about here is Ms. Hoang Thi Vuong Nga (born 1952), pen name Vuong Nga.

In the warm sunshine of early winter, “poet” Vuong Nga, a woman much younger than her 61 years, told us about her unfortunate fate and her journey to find poetry to “take refuge” from the many sorrows of life. She was born into a family with many siblings, her father was a traditional herbalist and good at Chinese characters. From the moment she was born, little Vuong Nga had to suffer from a congenital defect, a small stature and a hunchbacked spine.

Growing up, Vuong Nga was not as healthy as her peers, each step to school was a struggle and hardship. In return, Vuong Nga was a bright student, especially in Literature, so she was loved by teachers and friends.



Vuong Nga is absorbed in the poems of friends from all over the world.

However, after finishing grade 7/10, Vuong Nga had to stop. Because of her health condition, combined with the difficulties and hardships of her family, she did not allow her to travel more than 10 km to Xu Ro area (Vo Liet commune) to attend high school. At home, Vuong Nga quietly helped her parents with light tasks such as cooking, watering vegetables, chopping duckweed and learning the art of making medicine. As time passed, her parents passed away one after another, the pain, unhappiness and sadness piled up more and more. Luckily, she had learned a little bit of the art of making medicine from her father, so whenever someone in the family got sick, the neighbors would come to her for a prescription. It was unclear whether it was because of her "inheritance" or her "lucky hand", but her medicine cured illnesses very quickly, so her reputation spread far and wide. People in the village, then in the commune, in the region all came to her whenever they were sick. To facilitate trading, she set up a stall at the corner of Phuong Market and carried her load down to the market every morning. From then on, she had more people to talk to every day, and her sadness about her fate was somewhat lessened.

In her spare time, Vuong Nga wandered around the riverside of her hometown. Before the beauty of her hometown's landscape, Vuong Nga's soul was once again moved, the emotions of a good student in Literature that seemed to have been buried under pain and sadness now flared up and rose up. So Vuong Nga wrote poems, verses imbued with love for the countryside and simple and genuine like the people of Phuong. First, she shared her poems with two friends who sold goods in Phuong market, Bach Hoa and Thuy Nga. From then on, due to the harmony of their souls, the three poetry friends often exchanged and shared their feelings, so there were many poems signed together as a group, Hoa-song Nga (song means two: Vuong Nga and Thuy Nga). And it is not known whether it originated from "poetic fate" or not, but this land appeared the poetry group "Tam nuong xu Phuong". The poetry of “Tam Nuong Xu Phuong” is becoming more and more popular, many poems are broadcast on Nghe An Radio and Television Station and the names Hoa Song Nga are becoming more and more known. This means that the poetry group has more and more friends, not only the poetry groups in the district but also other poetry groups everywhere, from Anh Son, Nam Dan, Do Luong, Nghia Dan, Yen Thanh districts, Vinh City to Ha Tinh and Vinh Phuc provinces, all have poems sent back for exchange. Receiving “sincere feelings” from everywhere, “Tam Nuong Xu Phuong” sends back poems. The poems are sent, followed by months of anxious waiting and hoping for “swallows’ news” to be sent back. Just like that, the waiting and sharing through poems has brought joy, comfort and helped Vuong Nga and her friends to ease their worries and sadness in life. “Tam Nuong Xu Phuong” has contributed to the increasingly vibrant cultural and artistic life of the homeland, so the “men” also asked to join the poetry group. Therefore, the “Tam Nuong Xu Phuong” poetry group was changed to the Poetry Group of Xu Phuong.

Poets from all over the country have a special favor for Vuong Nga, because they understand her unfortunate circumstances and fate. In 2004, the Phuong Poetry Group published the collection “Duyen Tho”, a poet in the group shared: “The Phuong Poetry Group has 5 members, Hoa-Song Nga is the leader of the group. Everyone is married, only Vuong Nga is in her early forties and has not thought about her personal life. Every day, she goes to Phuong market in the morning to sell medicine, and in the afternoon she stays at home to read books and newspapers and write poetry. Her poetry is getting better and better, and she is admired by friends near and far, who share their feelings, many of whom want to become sworn brothers even though they have never met her”. Friends in the poetry group all confirmed that through the verses and understanding of Vuong Nga’s circumstances, many poets have gone from being “intoxicated by poetry” to being “intoxicated by people”, but she only wants to stop at friendship and affirms: “My life is lived and died for poetry”. A retired teacher sympathized and expressed his admiration for Vuong Nga, sending to Phuong the poem "My River" (dedicated to Hoang Vuong Nga): "My house is on the other side of the river/ Remembering the market day when you crossed the river on your shoulder pole/ The bridge on the river with many spans is not far away/ My bridge has no spans but is far away/ Clasping hands to worship Buddha, praying to heaven/ To be a butterfly flying around here/ To be the wind in the forest/ Let each other hang hammocks filled with fragrant poetry/ To be a silly starling/ Letting our souls land on the banks of your river". Vuong Nga responded with the poem "My Mountain" which is no less sharp, rich in imagery and passionate, filled with affection...

Looking out to the riverbank, where the cornfields are green and the canola flowers are yellow, Vuong Nga confided: “I don’t dare call what I write poetry, it’s just a way to help me forget some of the unhappiness and sadness in life. The happiest time is when I celebrate my 60th birthday, friends everywhere send me poems, some even painstakingly embroider a banner to send back. Receiving the care and sharing of friends and relatives, I find life more meaningful. Recently, my health has been declining, one eye is blurred, so sometimes I can’t help but feel sad and worried. But every time I receive poems from friends, I feel joy returning...”.

Saying goodbye to the "poet" of Phuong, we admired even more the determination of a disabled woman.

Cong Kien