Glory in poetry...

These days, many places inside and outside the city are jubilantly celebrating the 60th anniversary (1963 - 2023) of Vinh's transformation from a town to a city and the 235th anniversary of Phuong Hoang Trung Do - Vinh (1788 - 2023). On this occasion, poet Vo Van Thoan released his 5th collection of poems, titled "That Vinh in Me" (Nghe An Publishing House, September 2023) with 35 poems.

I was a bit surprised, but after some research, I found out that he had a convincing reason. His hometown is Nghi Phong, Nghi Loc, Nghe An, but Vinh has become his and his family's second hometown; they live, work, and bond with each other, creating memories from the 70s of the last century, until today, and certainly forever after!

The collection of poems “Vinh that trong toi” was not written in one go, in a certain period of time, “for the sake of it”, or to participate in any contest. Recently, the Vinh Xua website launched a contest of many genres about Vinh, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Vinh becoming a city, poet Vo Van Thoan submitted a series of 3 poems: “Ai che xanh doi”, “Dem Vinh”, “Ngay ai - nay”. Not raising the issue of winning an award or not, the author only participated in promoting the movement, aiming for honest and good things for the city where he lives. “A bright mind first, a bright road”, this is a verse in the poem “Golden words of the country” praising Uncle Ho. Hopefully, the poet, like many other citizens in Vinh, has been and is trying hard to have a “bright mind”, “a bright road” like that!

In the previous 4 poetry collections, published in 2009, 2013, 2019, 2020, Vo Van Thoan had a collection of poems about Vinh in each collection. A total of nearly a hundred poems. Thanks to that, when he came up with the idea of ​​​​collecting and publishing a separate collection about the city, he had an advantage, quickly completed the manuscript, the quality of the poems was "even", some poems and sentences were quite good. What is more important is that the book clearly reflects the landscape, atmosphere, customs, personality of the people and land, the sacred air of the mountains and rivers, flowers and grass here. That is, it is difficult to confuse with other cities in the Central region.

In the poem "Very Glorious", there are many details that are only found here:“A bowl of eel porridge, a gift from Nghe An/ Nghi Phu country wine, sweet Vinh oranges/ The beauty of Hoan Chau is still preserved/ Very Vinh, not just mine”.

The song "Dang Vinh" is a synthesis of many lines:“There is a Vinh figure that is hard to forget/ The Vi Dam folk song is forever familiar/ Who sings the Ben Thuy afternoon with nostalgia/ Salt and ginger are salty, the meaning is lasting”.

In the early morning on the street, hearing the call "Who wants green tea", how can one not be moved and excited:“Who wants green tea/ Just a few thousand dong/ But the sweet and bitter aroma of life”. Sometimes, if we exaggerate a little bit about what we love, it's easier to sympathize, like when the poet looked at "The moon on Quyet mountain":“Nowhere/ On this earth/ Is the moon as close as Quyet Mountain/ The moon is also close/ The sea is so deep/ And so incredibly blue”.

Living in the same block, people from many places come together, helping each other in times of need, and then become "Neighbors":"Not from the same homeland/ When we are far away, we rely on our neighbors". Lam River and Quyet Mountain have long been the enduring and beautiful symbols of Vinh City. Looking at them for a long time can easily get boring, but Vo Van Thoan is different:“Lam River has gone through storms, floods/ But tonight it is like an unmarried girl/ Quyet Mountain has stood tall for thousands of years/ Spring comes, letting out the sound of bells…”.

Vinh Street has a new feature, proudly having an old flower village in the suburbs. One time, the poet came to "Visit Nghi Lien flower village":“Many years ago, the fields of potatoes and rice were full of flowers/ This year, the whole commune is full of flowers/ People escaped poverty and moved forward not only thanks to rice/ Sending love, flowers find friends with people”.

Carrying a sincere and lasting love for Vinh, Vo Van Thoan can easily see and compare the Red City, Uncle Ho's hometown "Then - now" with many changes, but the core is still the people:“City of tireless walkers/ Each rosy morning lights up dreams of love”… Just like that, the collection of poems takes readers through many changes of people and history; many levels of emotions and thoughts about the hometown city, accumulated in a writer who is 76 years old.

With 35 neat, gentle, and kind poems, reading "Vinh in me", ordinary readers can still think of this: Well, writing about Vinh does not necessarily require a "birth certificate" in Vinh. Born and raised in the Nghi Loc countryside, where cassava and sweet potatoes grow all year round, reaching adulthood and then starting a career in the Transport industry since 1965, the poet "integrated" into Vinh, staying in Vinh for more than 40 years. How many relationships, friends, jobs, excitement, and exploration have made Vo Van Thoan's poetic soul attached to and indebted to the land and people of this place. There are also many writers who write poems from Vinh, living their whole lives in Vinh, but their feelings and souls are elsewhere, far away, so it is still difficult for them to write, and write, a whole collection of poems like that?