Try sketching poet Nguyen Hung through "Poetry Sketches"
Bui Sy Hoa•September 16, 2024 17:36
Reading "Poetic Sketches" (81 Literary Portraits) by poet Nguyen Hung, one first feels his respect and affection for poets, writers, critics, musicians...
Poet Nguyen Hung has just published the precious book "Poetry Sketches" (81 literary portraits).(*), in which more than half are portraits of writers and musicians in military uniforms. First of all, here is the poet's respect and affection for poets, writers, critics, and musicians who are the specific "portraits" in the book. Although it is just a "quick drawing" of portraits, highlighting the unique and distinctive features of the characters is a requirement that not everyone can easily overcome, if they do not have real talent and truly inspired moments.
Poet Nguyen Hung (left) and poet Bui Sy Hoa (author of the article)
“
...The portrait of Nguyen Hung emerges as a sincere and trustworthy poet; a deep and thorough reading and understanding; a sympathetic and calm soul; a diverse and attractive writing style...
Bui Sy Hoa
In fact, to “draw quickly” and leave an impression on a literary portrait, Nguyen Hung must grasp the spirit, the essence, the uniqueness, the specificity of the subject, which means the process of reading, absorbing, analyzing, selecting… which means it cannot be fast in reality, if not to say it must be elaborate, meticulous, and really hard. A poet can be “inspired” by a poetic idea, a verse, or even a poem, but it must certainly be the result, the end of a long, previously smoldering process. Of course, poets grasp the spirit of different subjects, from different angles, quickly or slowly, with different degrees of final success. This depends on many factors, both subjective and objective, as we know.
Certainly, poet Nguyen Hung has read portrait poems of Xuan Sach, Tran Nhuong or many impressive portrait poems such as when Nguyen Khoa Diem "painted" Nguyen Hong, when Thach Quy "painted" Nguyen Trong Tao, Hoang Cat, when Nguyen Ngoc Phu "painted" Tran Vang Sao... for example, to choose for himself a way of "painting" his own portrait, not mixed with others.
On the public highway, Nguyen Hung uses the “names” of outstanding/lifetime works, outstanding poems, prose, song lyrics, private stories… of the “subjects” to create frame details for portrait sketches. The poet “breathes” into familiar labels, known to many people, a new space, a new environment, making “it” come alive and sparkle in a new perception. Therefore, everything that seems to be known, seemingly dead and rigid, has been arranged by the poet, creating new connections, enriching new and strange meanings according to the poet’s own perspective, creating a new “attraction field”.
That is "Born inacross the Duong River/ Love poetry flies without stopping at the Red River wharf/There isKieu Loanwith so much joy/ Still on the road searching foreverdiêu bông leaves"(Hoang Cam); “Sacred Firelookcosmos/ The happy person calls the land to bloom with him…" (Huy Can); "Huong River knowsrhyme/ Talented and passionate twice, eyes are blind" (Truong Nam Huong); "Who would have thoughtGiat market/ Old Khung hurried back to his friendreeds/Eulogyfor a time just gone…” (Nguyen Minh Chau”)… That is when “drawing” Nguyen Truong “Writing quietly but the literary world is reporting a storm", Nguyen Hung proves with a sentence that once startled many readers and writers in the story situation about the character Dao Dua: "Lose the people and you will survive, win the people and you will lose"Or in the case of An Thuyen, it is a song that many people remember.“break the poem in half, cut the poem in half" in the popular songAnchored at the home port.
Cover of the book "Poetry Sketches" by poet Nguyen Hung
"Waves writhing in the night, soft sand Waves from the silver sea Waves of poetry and music "The pink waves of your lips and eyes"
Poetry: Bui Sy Hoa
There are quick strokes that do not achieve the necessary “shape”, poet Nguyen Hung knows how to “draw” even though it is dotted but trimmed, carefully selected, the effect is clearly seen. For example, when “drawing” the portrait of Hoai Vu, the poet opens “You at the head of the river, I at the end of the river/The green stream nurtures pink dreams…", then draw them one by one.Dong Vam Co, Walking in the scent of cajuput trees, Saying goodbye to the sunset…at the end of the poem, the poet suddenly "repeats" the sentence "You at the head of the river, I at the end of the river" like a lingering, stirring final verse. Or with Thanh Tung, even though he mentioned itRed flower seasonand many other marks, Nguyen Hung still finds a way to retain and clarify more about the poet of the land of royal poinciana flowers and ship whistles, with verses that both bear the mark of Thanh Tung and the mark of his soulmate, Nguyen Hung "Remember onepassionate youth"!
There are portraits that tell the heartbreaking life stories of the subject himself.Inbomb craterHavesky"(Lam Thi My Da), written by Nguyen Hung truthfully and skillfully"Leave the clouds to the wind…unexpectedly/Timeless poetrybut now forgotten/Friends can't remember the name/Mother and childshare the grief of father".There is a funny portrait"Once upon a time, the couple Ngoc Tu/Lived together slowly and slowly… prose/On the day of asking for Huong Ngan's hand in marriage/Hurriedly presented several petitionsreport" (Le Thieu Nhon) or "Writing for newspapers is not enough to pay for hair transplants." (Van Cong Hung) or "Poetry, literature, painting, translation… immersed / Beard not trimmed, love too lazy to visit" (Nguyen Quang Thieu). There are also portraits "taken" from the names of the poets themselves"Ifthat day in Yen TrungMother did not give birth to you/The literary world today lacks a featurespringdayfestival" (Ngo Xuan Hoi) or "Who hasauthoritygive more, receive more” (Tran Chan Uy)…
Many times, after quick strokes like the above, but the portrait does not really have the soul and spirit as expected, Nguyen Hung boldly "adds" and adds his own creations. That is the portrait of Vuong Trong with two concluding sentences that, when read aloud, are enough to know a large part of "his background and career": "Loved Kieu since the cradle/My heart forever beats with words of love"; portrait of Nguyen Trong Tao "Love is like a trench/Arrows fall and bullets stray, on every side there's… you"; portrait of Nguyen Quang Sang"He is Nam Sang - Brother Hai/Write quickly but drink slowly/No hurry"
“
For each type of poetry/literature, each type of person, Nguyen Hung always chooses the right, appropriate poetic form, based on the lasting impression of one/many specific good poems.
Bui Sy Hoa
For each type of poetry/literature, each type of person, Nguyen Hung always chooses the right, appropriate poetic form, based on the lasting impression of one/many specific good poems. For example, the poem about Nguyen Binh with each stanza of 4 lines, 7 short and serious words, bears a very clear shadow of the famous poemShe picked apricots; about Huy Can's graceful six-eight verse, reminiscent of the poemThe River; about Pham Tien Duat's freedom and debauchery, reminiscent of the songSquad of cars without windows; about Xuan Quynh, five-word poems are both traditional and new, profound, like the way poemsWaves, Boats and the Seacome and stay in the hearts of readers; about Nguyen Binh Phuong, the free and unconventional writer who has appeared impressively and differently in the literary world for a long time.
More importantly, there are some brilliant strokes that create a unique sketch, like when Nguyen Hung wrote about Y Nhi "Quiet timesitting and knittingmy fate"; about Tran Nhuong"Country windtogetherMarch wind/Blowing from soldier times, cool through peacetime"; about Jiangnan"He alone leads the spring to heaven"; about Le Luu "Riverbed wavesThe boat capsized in the afternoon/The hero mixed with the foam and drifted together"; about Tran Dang Khoa "The child prodigy is now an official/Still we are cousins..."
Obviously, Nguyen Hung's brush did not stop at one way, one style, one material, one color..., but always changed, near and far, light and dark appropriately, flexibly to "create" impressive portraits. From there, the writer believes that, after drawing quickly but still specifically depicting the unique characteristics of each "object", Nguyen Hung's portrait gradually appeared in the minds of many writers and readers. That is a sincere and trustworthy poet; a deep and thorough reading and understanding; a sympathetic and calm soul; a diverse and attractive writing style...
After all, Nguyen Hung only knows how to take care of, cultivate, “draw”, “paint” beautifully for many friends, do you see him… draw himself? To celebrate his new book, I would like to boldly “sketch” a portrait of Nguyen Hung from one of his famous poems and songs:
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)