Poet Hoai Vu: For me, poetry must be written from one's own flesh and blood, from one's heart.

One of the famous poems during the resistance war against the US is "Vam Co Dong" by poet Hoai Vu. The poem not only contributed to encouraging the heroic spirit of the army and people during the resistance war, but also had the power to spread and move for decades, causing many people to "definitely" assume that poet Hoai Vu wrote about his hometown river, even though his hometown is in the Central region, Quang Ngai.

Poet Hoai Vu signs books for readers

• EMOTIONAL MEMORIES BY THE VAM CO DONG RIVER

- Many poets and musicians have written about their hometown river, but poet Hoai Vu is known for the Dong Vam Co River, where he was attached to when he went to fight the resistance war?

- When I was 11 or 12 years old, I joined the army. Honestly, at that time, I didn't have many memories of my hometown. I had some poems written about the mountains and my hometown, but I hadn't written about my hometown river. And with so many memories attached to my blood, the Vam Co Dong River became a mark in my poetry. The mark was so strong that many people thought that my hometown was in the West, not Quang Ngai, and that my hometown river was the Vam Co Dong River. In addition to the song "Vam Co Dong", I also had many songs and poems written about this river such as: "Anh o dau song em cuoi song", "Thi tho voi dong song", "Di trong huong tram"... Many people still thought I was from Long An, from the West, and they considered me as a fellow countryman even before meeting me and reading my poems or listening to my songs. Honestly, for a creative artist, having such empathy is very nice. When I went on business trips to Long An, Can Tho, Ben Tre, Dong Thap, I was loved as if I were a native of the West. That love for me was a deep sympathy, a respect that came from a common love for a river, a countryside, even though many Westerners thanked me for bringing the Vam Co river to the hearts of many people across the country.

- Is "Vam Co Dong" your best poem?

- I think no one would think of such a way to arrange their brainchildren. This poem was written from a memory. In 1963, I went on a mission to Long An, right at the time of fierce war. Every night, we crossed the Vam Co Dong River, enemy ships were coming and going busily. Crossing the river was very difficult and dangerous, we had to wait for the signal lights to flash before daring to cross the river and were very afraid of being ambushed. To lead the group across the river, there were very brave female liaisons. They weaved through the water hyacinths, rowing boats to take us across the river without fear of danger. That night, when we crossed the river at 1 or 2 a.m., I sat in the duck-watching hut of the people by the river. And with a strong emotion, I wrote the poem that night. The next day, I copied the poem into two copies. I put one copy in my pocket for safety, and sent the other. The poem was published in newspapers and on radio, and was composed by musician Truong Quang Luc and sung on the radio in 1966.

It is known that when "Vam Co Dong" was put to music into a song of the same name, it could be considered a "fever" when from North to South, songs about the Vam Co River resounded - the river associated with the heroic but also warm and poetic fighting atmosphere of the army and people at that time?

This is also associated with another memory of mine. At the end of 1966, also while on a business trip to Long An. At that time, I often brought a small radio to listen to. That day, at night, also walking along the Vam Co River, I happened to hear the singing of singer Tran Thu, Tuyet Nhung, a female choir of the Voice of Vietnam Radio in Hanoi singing: "Do you know in the Red River..." and I was very moved. That was an unforgettable memory during my days working in the Southern battlefield. At that time, because I was traveling in an enemy-occupied area, although I was very moved, I could only turn the radio on at a moderate volume, enough to listen, with emotions and vibrations that were difficult to contain. Although I heard my own poems again, when they were set to music, sung by singers from the far North from Hanoi, I was truly moved.

There is another memory about this song that I will always remember. That was when I met musician Phan Huynh Dieu, he said that he heard the song "Vam Co Dong" while he was carrying rice and working in the fields in the battlefield of Zone 5, also in a program broadcast from the North. He asked his comrades: "Which river is so beautiful? Where is it?" And musician Phan Huynh Dieu was very moved when he learned that the river was from the South, from the fierce resistance zone, full of pain and heroism. "I will write about the Vam Co Dong River" - musician Phan Huynh Dieu said at that time. And indeed, it was true. Many years later, musician Phan Huynh Dieu composed my poem "Anh o dau song, em cuoi song". He said that he liked this river from the song "Vam Co Dong" that he heard during the war.

• LOVE STORIES, EMOTIONS FROM THE HEART

- The love in Hoai Vu's poems is very beautiful but often lingering, unable to come together, carrying many memories... Are these real love stories or the poet's imagination?

- Really, I wrote from true stories. "Walking in the scent of cajuput" - mentioning this poem, I am still moved now. The poem is about a liaison named Lan, who took care of me when I was injured during the fierce resistance days. When peace was restored, I looked for my benefactor, the liaison from the past, not knowing that she had been shot dead in the cajuput garden during the resistance war. Before going to find Lan, I went to buy two bottles of perfume to give to her. People showed me to her grave. The place where Lan lay, it was so heartbreaking, the liaison sister from the past, now was just a mound of dirt, cajuput leaves covered the grave. At that time, I was moved, whispering: Lan, wake up early, wash your face, apply perfume, I bought perfume from Saigon for you...

Or the poem "Farewell to the Sunset" (Musician Thuan Yen composed the song of the same name) was also written from memories. That day, enemy tanks were chasing us in the strategic hamlet. We had to run away to the houses of the people, calling the door of the people's houses. The people were very sympathetic to the liberation army, opening the door to let us in. The next afternoon, I left, Ms. Hanh (the girl in my house who stayed) bought me a white outfit, a hoe in my hand, a checkered scarf for me, Hanh carried a bag - we pretended to be a couple going to work in the fields to fool the enemy, passing the post. Before saying goodbye, Hanh said, "Let's go, remember to liberate our homeland soon!" I saw her tears falling. When I went far away, looking back, I could still see Hanh's white hat waving forever in the afternoon sun gradually turning to night.

All my poems are written from my own emotional stories. For me, poetry is flesh and blood, drawn from the heart, not embellished or painted. I write what I think and feel in my heart. Poetry must first of all truly vibrate from within to convey emotions to the reader. It must be a story of the heart, of the soul, it cannot be imagined and then written with flowery words to become poetry.

- What other elements are needed to make good poetry?

- I think that to write good poetry, in addition to the above, one must also have the blood to write poetry, or in other words, be born with it.

- When you wrote your first poems, did you think you would become a famous poet?

- No. At that time, I never thought of becoming a poet. In fact, I wrote not for the sake of poetry but simply because I had the need to share unforgettable stories and memories in words and poetry. Besides poetry, I also wrote stories and memoirs, partly due to the nature of my work and the necessary needs of the battlefield. Writing poetry, for me, is simply because it is a genre that cannot be replaced by another genre. Only poetry can fully express my heart and my emotions. I write poetry not only for fun but also very practically, because my heart needs to be expressed and spoken.

- Besides poetry, you were known as a famous writer of stories and memoirs from your days on the battlefield?

- I wrote stories and memoirs because of the need to stay connected to the battlefield. Just about the war, I wrote about 50-70 articles. At that time, news from the South sent to the North was very important. My memoirs were published in Nhan Dan Newspaper, Thong Nhat Newspaper, and Van Nghe Newspaper. Some memoirs became documents to help some cadres, such as the memoir about local girls in Long An. Thanks to the specific feats of each person mentioned in the memoir, they later had documents to verify their achievements for the revolution. As for stories, I have about seven or eight collections of stories, both original and translated. Among them is the translated story collection Flowers in the Snow - Chinese Literature written about the fate of Chinese people with life tragedies that were well received by readers... However, many people mention Hoai Vu as a poet because perhaps, poetry has a connection with the media, television, and musicians, and is set to music into songs that have the power to move the public's heart, so it has a wide spread.

- Does poet Hoai Vu still write at the age of 90?

- Honestly, I realize that I am getting old, so I should rest so that the younger generation can rise up. I am someone who is very attached to the younger generation. Decades ago, wherever I had the opportunity to open a writing camp, I opened a writing camp for youth volunteers, military writing camps, student writing camps, etc. and I looked forward to and hoped for the young writers. When I realized that my strength was limited and I could no longer write, I should stop temporarily, and the younger generation would rise up to replace me.

- Thank you poet for sharing!

Source: http://baolamdong.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/202503/nha-tho-hoai-vu-voi-toi-tho-phai-duoc-viet-tu-mau-thit-tu-long-minh-5d85ee1/