"The morning sun smells good on my eyes" - the poetry of a fulfilled and complete woman

On March 23, in Hanoi, the Writers Association Publishing House organized the launch of the poetry collection "Ban mai thom mat nang" by poet Vu Tran Anh Thu, published in 2024.

The collection of poems consists of 176 pages divided into 5 parts with 123 poems written in the pure Vietnamese 1-2-3 verse form and 7 illustrations by artist Tran Thang. This is a new verse form initiated by poet Phan Hoang in 2018 and has been experimented with by many authors.

All poems composed in the 1-2-3 verse form have 6 lines, divided into 3 sections. The first line also serves as the title of the work, the next two lines are like the second stanza of the poem, and the last three lines are the concluding stanza that closes the poem.

Author Vu Tran Anh Thu interacts with the audience at the book launch. (Photo: KIM THOA)

Author Vu Tran Anh Thu said that the 1-2-3 poetry form, initiated by poet Phan Hoang, has been a new trend in recent years. The author also won a prize in the 1-2-3 poetry contest in 2025. After the first poetry collection "Tieng mua" (Hoi Nha Van Publishing House 2022), "Ban mai thom mat nang" is the second poetry collection released on her birthday. This is a gift she wants to send to her relatives, friends and beloved readers.

The beautiful collection of poems, catching the reader's eye right from the cover, printed on beautiful paper, size 18x18, making the reader sympathetic at first sight. The 123 poems of the collection 1-2-3 are divided into 5 parts: Dawn link, The moon's face is farther away, the more I miss it, The sound of rain echoes to the distant subconscious, Is it possible to isolate emotions, Missing a day because of suffocating love.

The themes of the collection of poems are quite diverse, from love of nature, regional scenery to family affection, love between couples, thoughts, contemplations, and philosophies about life. The main emotions of the collection of poems are faith, hope, and optimism about life of the poetess who has a fulfilling and complete life.

In the introduction to the poetry collection “Ban mai thom mat nang”, poet, critic, translator, Chairman of the Literary Translation Council of the Vietnam Writers Association, term X, Nguyen Chi Hoan wrote: “The opening of the poetry collection is a series of “green” images - all conveying diverse, fresh impressions, spreading everywhere, with fertile vitality; concluding, right before a promise of a heart “love” that is always, or should I say constantly, awake and vigilant, is the image that covers the horizon of a beach at dawn with no one in sight, with the highlight “Layers of pristine sand” - that view, with a clear emphasis on the two words “pure”, reveals the main source of inspiration for 123 poems that seem to be moments of the author’s soul; thus, showing that this 1-2-3 poem by Vu Tran Anh Thu passionately looks towards the land of innocent moments that still linger through adulthood, which perhaps everyone has experienced, wants to reunite with, sometimes and sometimes. Isn't innocence always and forever a horizon?

The poem “The fragrant morning sun” was introduced at the launch. (Photo: KIM THOA)

Born as a good student majoring in literature in Thai Binh, but pursuing a career in accounting, doing business, and living in Hanoi. For Vu Tran Anh Thu, a woman who has spent more than half her life working with numbers and math, writing poetry is a way to balance her mood after the fierce business world.

Nature and people, scenery and love are two parallel streams of emotions, appearing simultaneously in each poem of Vu Tran Anh Thu. Spring, love, faith, full affection, pure spring colors are the emotions that readers have when reading "Ban mai thom mat sua ...

Associate Professor, Dr. Le Thi Thuy Vinh, lecturer at Hanoi Pedagogical University 2

Poetry is often the voice of the heart of painful experiences, anguish, loss or emptiness, tilting the world... But Vu Tran Anh Thu's poetry has perhaps escaped that definition, it confirms a fullness, fulfillment in a woman who is successful in both career and family... Her poetry is as full as happiness; full, bright, light, and leisurely as her own life.