Author Nguyen Duy Nang: The poet 'anchored to the waves'

(Baonghean) - Born in the coastal area of ​​Cua Hoi, author Nguyen Duy Nang (member of the Nghe An Literature and Arts Association) finds himself unable to escape the “waves” of his hometown sea. “Neo vao con vong” is the name of his poetry collection, which is also an association with the “portrait” of him that poet Nguyen Hung (his nephew) “painted” of his uncle.

Let me start with the talented "strokes" of poet Nguyen Hung depicting the "seaside man" Nguyen Duy Nang: "Anchoring myself to the waves/ To be drunk on the sea and on you all my life/ The waves beat forever without a moment of calm/ The pages of poetry are soaked with the love of the sea, soft and bland/ The sea and poetry blend into two halves/ The sea becomes poetry, poetry drunk on the sea, gray hair/ A person once carried the sea while walking on the street/ Suddenly startled: where did the fallen cotton flowers go?/ The sea-person's character is like salty salt/ The hugs spread to the boat/ I refuse to drink but cannot bear to be without friends/ So that the days go by, grandmother and grandchild silently go crazy".

Poet Nguyen Duy Nang

I told poet Nguyen Hung, what else should I write about Nguyen Duy Nang, when he, with only 12 sentences, had already painted him so clearly, fully and delicately. Nguyen Hung said, just meet him, just write, Mr. Nang still has many interesting things. And I, telling Nguyen Hung, I will do something a bit absurd, which is to slowly “interpret” his drawings…

Nguyen Duy Nang was born in 1944, in a coastal village of Cua Hoi. He is the youngest of five children, a family that has been involved in the sea for generations. “The poor fishing village, the thatched roofs, the sound of the waves, the stormy days, the swaying boats, the tiny figures of people amidst the vast waves, the saltiness of the wind...

All of it has seeped into my chest, into my memories" - Nguyen Duy Nang confided like that over a cup of slow-flowing afternoon coffee. Life will flow quietly, he will become a fisherman like his hometown people for generations, like his father, like his brother if he had not nurtured a little dream in himself early on...

Cua Hoi Beach. Photo: TL

The boy Nang was famous for being a good student, loved books and longed to escape poverty. He thought he had to do something different... The pages of literature opened the way for him to pursue those desires. Although he was an excellent student in Literature in the province, he eventually passed the entrance exam to the University of Agriculture (majoring in Aquaculture).

After graduating from university, he returned to his hometown to work as a technical officer at Cua Hoi Shipyard. “In the end, I still returned to the sea, to the ships” - he said with a smile, as if the memory of joy was still shining in his crow’s feet eyes. “The desire to do something else, but the nostalgia for the waves, the sea never subsided. And then, I achieved my wish”.

As a promising cadre, he was sent to study economic and economic management courses at home and abroad. He became Deputy Director of Cua Hoi Shipyard. After completing an 18-month advanced economic course in the Soviet Union, he was appointed Deputy Director of Business of Cua Hoi State Fishing Enterprise (under the Department of Fisheries).

After that, he was transferred to work as Deputy Director of Nghe Tinh Seafood Import-Export Company. When Cua Lo town was established, he moved to work as Head of General Economics Department and later became Director of Agricultural and Forestry Extension Center.

Poet Nguyen Duy Nang (left cover) and artists on a field trip to Phu Quy. Photo: NVCC

During his long career as a cadre and “official”, one would think that the numbers, business calculations and work would make him forget the “dreamy” part that is inherent in the soul of that seafarer. But no, he said, although not often, he still comes to literature in his own way. He reads poetry, he writes poetry (although not much) and he “looks” at work with a poetic eye.

Although he is over 70 years old, he still remembers his first poem published in Song Lam magazine - the province's literary magazine - and the feeling of "trembling" when he saw his poems in the magazine. He said that the poem was written when he was a cadre at Cua Hoi Shipbuilding Enterprise. Each boat produced by the factory, when it is about to be completed, has an extremely important step: drawing the "eyes" of the boat.

The boat-eye painter must be a very good person. When he saw the meticulous and loving painter finishing the work of painting the boat's eyes, he wrote his "literary gateway" poem: "Boat Eyes": After painting the eyes for the boat/ The worker daydreams about the sea/ He sees fish in squares Five and Nine/ Swimming upstream to the double-stretched net/ He is intoxicated by the blue color of seventeen fathoms of the sea/ The fish's shadow is reflected in the water's bottom/ The birds in the sky chirp/ Then quickly fly towards the sunset/...". If it weren't for his love for the sea, as passionate as the waves, the technical officer Nguyen Duy Nang at that time would not have been able to see the meaning of each stroke of the boat-eye painter's drawing.

Poet Nguyen Duy Nang (third from left) with artists at an art exhibition. Photo: NVCC

The poem was sent to the magazine and he received a response from editor Trieu Nguyen. “I was lucky to be discovered and supported by knowledgeable and enthusiastic editors. Back then, if there was just a glimmer of light in the pages sent in, the people who worked as literary “gatekeepers” would appreciate it very much. They would come to encourage, help, and correct each word. Thanks to that, my love for literature seemed to grow deeper and deeper” - Nguyen Duy Nang shared.

From the first poem to the later poems and poetry collections, the main theme in Nguyen Duy Nang’s works is the sea. Even the names of his poetry collections clearly show that: Waves, Salt of the Earth, Anchored in the Sound of Waves… Up to 3/5 of his poetry collections are deeply in love with the sea. And there is a characteristic in Nguyen Duy Nang’s poetry that hidden deep in his emotional poems, people can still recognize his thoughts, concerns, and outlook on life.

The verses about worldly affairs and philosophy sparkle in poems that seem vague, like stories and feelings, such as verses like this: "Fish on the shore are shriveled because they are smart/Fish in the open sea are plump but foolish" (a verse that was once chosen to be released into the sky on Vietnam Poetry Day in Nghe An).

For Nguyen Duy Nang, literature has given him so much. He has been able to live as his kind, loving, enthusiastic, and passionate self. He does not have the heart to hurt anyone, or more accurately, he is very afraid of hurting others. Even in his own family, he loves and is somewhat “afraid” of his children and grandchildren.

Poet Nguyen Hung said: “His family has 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls. Even when the family’s economy was still very difficult, his grandparents devoted all their efforts to their children’s education, while he “shouldered” the additional responsibility of raising his grandchildren. With his children, he was often afraid of making them sad, and often agreed with them on which school to apply to, what to decide to do… instead of using his father’s authority to guide his children.”

Nguyen Duy Nang himself also realized that he lived a more “cultured” life thanks to literature. And it not only supported his soul but also brought him “truly precious” literary friends. He was a person who took pleasure in relationships with friends. To his friends, his door was always open. He was willing to welcome friends to stay at his house for a whole week even when he was a student, even though he lived with his siblings (the people responsible for raising him and his education).

When he had his own family, he often invited friends home to play and his wife became the one who served him and his friends at drinking parties at home. But it would be a mistake to think that with that personality, he was a patient and gentle person. In fact, Nguyen Duy Nang was considered by his friends to be a straightforward and somewhat hot-tempered person. When he encountered unpleasant things, he often expressed his reaction without restraint. He did not like the flattery and dishonesty of those around him. He was also easily annoyed by negative things in society.

He said, perhaps only before poetry, he felt he really had to “bow his head”. He appreciated the heartfelt words of “cyclo poet” Nguyen Van Phuong (Hue): “My life is very dirty, only entering poetry can make it dry”. From this idea, he wrote the poem “Leading mother into poetry”. He hoped that his mother, who had worked hard all her life, would one day be able to enter a solemn, clean place, which was… poetry.

And, although his poetry is emotional, each poem by Nguyen Duy Nang is often associated with a story, often with a clear origin. He said: “I choose the poem’s ideas, then choose the meaning, choose the words”. And for him, coming to poetry, meeting literary friends… are joys like a reunion after “waiting for someone for hundreds of years”.

Thuy Vinh