Overcoming fate, poet Truong Quang Thu wrote a 'miracle'
Truong Quang Thu is called “The Special Poet” by the literary and artistic community because his body is disabled, he cannot sit and write, he has to stand or lie down to compose poetry. It is even more admirable that he has overcome the harshness of fate to build a happy home and write a “miracle” in everyday life.
From “Spring Love”
About Tam Tien hamlet,Quynh Lap commune(Hoang Mai town), visited Mr. Truong Quang Thu's house (born in 1951) when the owner was standing next to the altar writing poetry. His thin figure, crooked body, eyes focused on the laptop screen placed on the altar, his hands constantly typing on the keyboard...
When a visitor came to visit, Mr. Thu paused his work and shared: “This morning is getting cold, feelings of nostalgia and nostalgia suddenly come flooding back. I am trying to record the flow of emotions at this very special moment.”
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According to poet Truong Quang Thu, most of his life was a journey to overcome adversity and a harsh fate. Just after the age of 20, the young man from the coastal village of Quynh Lap stumbled upon a piece of a bomb dropped by the American army on the village field, leading to polyarthritis. His legs gradually atrophied, his spine became curved and misaligned, forcing him to stay in one place.
After many years of treatment, his health improved a little, he could move around the house but with great difficulty, completely losing the ability to work. It was a time of sadness and disappointment, at times he thought he had become a disabled person, life no longer had meaning.
Fortunately, during the darkest years of his life, the “muse” came to Truong Quang Thu and became his confidant. Poetry has somewhat soothed the pain and soothed the dark feelings of the unfortunate young man who fell intoadversity.
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Mr. Thu always has a pen and paper in his pocket. Whenever he feels a sudden urge, he takes out a pen and paper and quickly writes down a poem. Whenever he has a poem, he sends it to the newspaper, and earns royalties to support his family's living expenses and bring them a little joy.
His legs were cramped and his spine was crooked, so when he wrote poetry, he had to stand or lie down, sometimes standing for 5 hours straight to complete a poem. Up to now, he has published 3 separate poetry collections, including “Moon Love”, “Walking Fruit Tray” and “Cat Beauty Queen”. The “Walking Fruit Tray” collection alone was awarded the Ho Xuan Huong Literature and Arts Award by the People’s Committee of Nghe An province (2005). The 4th poetry collection, “Spring Love”, is currently at the printing house and is expected to be published in the next few months.
It is worth mentioning that despite his unfortunate fate and painful physical torment, Truong Quang Thu never mentioned personal loss or disadvantage in his works. On the contrary, he always looked forward to the good things in family life and society with pure emotions, expressing optimism and love of life.
This explains why his poem “Love of Spring” was set to music by musician Ho Huu Thoi in 1998 and was voted one of the 100 best songs about Spring of the 20th century. Let us enjoy the evocative verses of this famous poem: “The gentle sound of fragrance/Heard whispering in the wind/The sound of buds breaking open/Heard heavy in the trees/The sound of Spring somewhere/Heard my heart fluttering/Like a promise/Forever searching all my life…".
Currently, Mr. Truong Quang Thu is a member of the Nghe An Literature and Arts Association, Vice Chairman of the Song Mai Literature and Arts Club, and was awarded the Medal for the Cause of Literature and Arts by the Vietnam Literature and Arts Association and many awards from newspapers and magazines.
To the title "Learning never ends"
If the “muse” soothed his mental pain and helped Mr. Truong Quang Thu get up, Mrs. Tran Thi Ni (1954) was the “support” for him to continue on his life path. That year, from Viet Duc Hospital (Hanoi) to Ha Bac Traditional Medicine Hospital, the young man from Nghe An coincidentally met a girl from Bac Giang who came to visit her friend.
Feeling sorry for the young man who had to endure his disability, the girl talked to him and comforted him. Then the two became close, often exchanging feelings, and love came without them knowing. The girl decided to ignore all advice from her family and friends to follow the call of love, and return home.Nghe Anmarry a disabled man
After getting married (in 1977), the young couple's parents built a separate house for them on Quynh Lap land. Mrs. Ni gave birth to three sons, making life, which was already difficult, even more difficult. As for Mr. Thu, although the hospital concluded that he had lost the ability to work permanently, he could not bear to see his wife struggling to make a living alone, so he decided to work to ease his wife's hardships.
So he started with light work like watering vegetables, weeding, tilling beds, cooking and taking care of the children. In his spare time, he spent time composing poems and sending them to newspapers.
Despite his illness, limited health and difficult economic conditions, Mr. Truong Quang Thu always encouraged his wife to strive to raise their children to be educated and mature. At that time, in Quynh Lap, most children dropped out of school to go to sea, supplementing the family's labor force.
Mr. Thu really had a “far-sighted vision” when he sent his children to high school, and then they passed the entrance exams to universities. The eldest son is Truong Quang Van (born in 1978), currently the Principal of Quynh Lien Secondary School; the second son is Truong Quang Chuong (born in 1981), a lecturer at the Dalat Military Academy and the youngest son is Truong Quang Phuong (born in 1983), an aquaculture engineer, currently working in Ha Tinh city.
Promoting traditionstudiousMr. Thu's family, 3 grandchildren are studying at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Da Nang University of Architecture and People's Security Academy.
“I always encourage my children and grandchildren in my family and village to study hard to contribute to changing their lives and making many contributions to society, so I am loved and trusted by everyone. Recently, I was awarded the title “Learning Never Ends” by the Provincial Association for the Promotion of Education, which is an encouragement for me to continue to excel,” Mr. Thu shared.
“Mr. Truong Quang Thu is severely disabled and unable to work, but he is always determined to overcome his circumstances to build a good life and raise his children to be successful. Over the years, Mr. Thu's family has always been recognized as a typical studious family, received awards from superiors and become a shining example for the community.”
Mr. Vuong Dai Tuong - Standing Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Quynh Lap commune