Poet and musician Nguyen Thuy Kha was born in Thai Binh but his hometown is Vinh Bao (Hai Phong), a descendant of Nguyen Binh Khiem. Since childhood, due to his family's difficult circumstances, young Kha had to work as a "garden worker" for his family: growing mulberry trees to raise silkworms, collecting duckweed and tending pigs. And it was thanks to those difficult childhood years that Kha's literary soul was nurtured.
Joining the army, 19 years in the army as a signalman across Truong Son, being present during the most fierce years in Quang Tri ancient citadel turned the young man from the port city into a battle-hardened soldier.
From left to right: Musicians Nguyen Trong Tao, Nguyen Thuy Kha and poet Van Cong Hung
Photo: Provided by Poet Van Cong Hung
Nguyen Thuy Kha came to music very early. The first song in his life he wrote for the high school he was studying in 1965: The song of self-defense of Thai Phien school (a long poem) is still loved until now. Nguyen Thuy Kha also participated in writing music theories: Van Cao - the person walking along the sea, Half a century of modern Vietnamese music, The faces of music of the century, Nguyen Thien Dao - the exiled musician, Huy Du - life and music ... In addition, he also tried his hand in the field of short stories with: Late Moonlight Night (printed in Van Nghe Newspaper ), My Soldier, Red Leaf Tree, Ta Lu and the novel Huong ...
When he first started his writing career, Nguyen Thuy Kha wrote poetry but was not very satisfied with it. While he was a military information engineer, in 1978, he was fortunate enough to receive a decision to attend a composition training course taught by musicians Vu Trong Hoi, Van An, Chu Minh, etc., and then studied the first course of Nguyen Du Writing School, thanks to which he had the opportunity to enter the path of professional composition in both the fields of music and poetry.
Meet the "muse" at nearly 70 years old
His whole life was devoted to his love of literature. He composed nearly 2,000 love poems, a not small number, demonstrating the poet's powerful writing, including poems that created public opinion: Untitled, Companion Raindrops, Undressing ... His poems have been translated into many languages: Japanese, French, Spanish, Russian, American...
He lived a very full life when he published several poetry collections dedicated to his hometown Hai Phong: Mother of the Sea , to the capital Hanoi where he lives: The Thousand-Year-Old Universe , to his wife: Hien and dedicated to farmers is the poetry collection Purple Rice .
Poet - musician Nguyen Thuy Kha through the drawings of artist Bui Duc Lam (printed in the book "Following the trend of famous people" published by Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House)
Among his famous poems, Untitled is widely known. Surely fans still have not forgotten the heart-wrenching verses:
"Take your lover to your ex's house
Noon rain falls
Suddenly found myself split into two halves
Half wet now, half wet then".
"Before getting married to the current Mrs. Vuong Thi Minh Hien, I had a very beautiful first love in Hai Phong. Her name was Loc Son. That was when I was a student at the University of Information and Communications Technology in Hanoi. She played the guitar well, sang well, and many girls were interested in her, but she was still faithful to her. When I had free time, I often sat down to compose music for her, including the song Chieu Ve with its poignant and touching lyrics...", poet Nguyen Thuy Kha told the writer while he was alive.
Poet Nguyen Thuy Kha's handwriting and signature for Thanh Nien Newspaper readers on October 20, 2015
Photo: QUYNH TRAN
Although he was a soldier who went through life and death, he still kept everything that Loc Son wrote and sent to the front. "Yes, not a single letter was left out. It was the sincere feelings and determination of a girl whose lover was facing life and death to wait for the day of victory. In 1973, Loc Son received the news that I had sacrificed in Quang Tri, she cried until her tears ran dry. Later, after some matchmaking, she agreed to get married and had a son in Hanoi. I asked and searched for her many times, but she still hid all her whereabouts," poet Nguyen Thuy Kha was moved.
"One time, my wife and I went back to our hometown. It was drizzling and our clothes were wet. We stopped the car and took shelter under a tree by the side of the road, and across the road was Mrs. Loc Son's old house. A poetic idea suddenly... came to me naturally: Taking my lover to my ex-lover's house...", poet Nguyen Thuy Kha continued.
And then, as fate would have it, one morning while exercising at Hoan Kiem Lake (Hanoi), his close friend came to talk to a stranger, who happened to be Mrs. Loc Son's younger brother. His friend was so happy that he quickly called Nguyen Thuy Kha to let him know. The poet followed the paper with the address to his ex-lover's house... That year, Mrs. Loc Son was nearly 70 years old, with a hunched back, wrinkled skin, and white hair. Poet Nguyen Thuy Kha met his "muse" again, happy and sad, and felt even more sorry for her than before...
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nguyen-thuy-kha-va-cau-chuyen-cam-dong-dua-nguoi-yeu-qua-nha-nguoi-yeu-cu-185250313173455213.htm
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