60 years old tragicomedy still a 'young poet'

(Baonghean) - Members aged 35 - 40, even close to 60 in Nghe An poetry groups are reluctantly considered 'young poets'.

The Poetry Committee of the Provincial Literature and Arts Association currently has 81 members, of which 46 members are over 70 years old, 32 members are under 70 years old. 3 members are considered young and are also between 35 and 40 years old. In recent years, the Poetry Committee has not admitted any new young members.

Activities of Nghe An Spring Tao Dan Club. Photo: Phuoc Anh

In addition to the provincial Literature and Arts Association, there are currently many independent clubs, groups, and poetry associations in the province, gathering many talented writers but all facing a "gap" in generational continuity.

Mr. Duong Tien Ngoc - Chairman of the Thai Hoa Town Literature and Arts Association shared: “The association currently has 32 members, the youngest is only 5 people between the ages of 30 - 40, the rest are on average seniors from 60 to over 70 years old. The members are mostly former teachers and retired engineers, all are “amateurs” but they are very concerned, dedicated and passionate. Currently the youngest in the association is author Ly Thu Thao, graduated from Nguyen Du Writing School, now over 30 years old”.

Regarding the issue of young creative teams, Mr. Duong Tien Ngoc affirmed that this is a major concern for those working in the association. However, building the next generation is not easy. The Thai Hoa Town Literature and Arts Association is considered one of the associations with many positive activities to spread the creative movement in the community. Since 2008, the association has organized poetry writing competitions in high schools in the area.

Despite financial difficulties, the association still tried to maintain this activity until 2012, when it stopped, because the response from students was not as expected. The quantity and quality of the submitted entries were not high, causing the contests to fall into a state of "stillbirth".

Not willing to stop there, the Thai Hoa Town Literature and Arts Association continued to mobilize resources, annually organizing poetry activities and exchanges, inviting famous poets such as Thach Quy, Nguyen Thi Phuoc, Nguyen Van Hung... to talk and exchange about new compositions, trends and modern writing styles.

Activities are held in public places to attract people’s attention. However, these efforts have not had a significant impact on the community in general and on young people in particular.

A similar situation occurs at Tao Dan Mua Xuan Nghe An (under the provincial Cultural and Sports Center). Established in 2011, Tao Dan Mua Xuan now has 35 members, all of whom are older members, the youngest being nearly 60 years old. Poet Lang Hong Quang - Chairman of Tao Dan Mua Xuan said that the goal set each year is to recruit 2-3 new members, with priority given to young members, but this has not been achieved for many years.

Recently, Tao Dan has been sending invitations to some young faces who are good at reciting poetry and have a hobby of writing poetry, but most of them have refused.

If a dozen years ago, poetry clubs, associations, and groups were scattered in schools, now they have almost disappeared. According to poet Pham Mai Chien - Head of the Poetry Department, Nghe An Province Literature and Arts Association, the reason is that the Provincial Literature and Arts Association does not have a specialized department for young artists. In recent years, activities such as writing camps, competitions, poetry forums, etc. have been less vibrant, leading to a decline in creative movements in schools.

On the other hand, from a social perspective, the objective cause is the development of life, leading to movements in information technology, entertainment, and recreation, making poetry no longer a familiar place to express and convey thoughts and feelings.

Phuoc Anh