Poet Nguyen Tien Thanh launches poetry collection Vien Ca

This is the third collection of poems by poet Nguyen Tien Thanh after two collections of poems "Chieu khong ten nhu mot muc giu doi" and "Loạn but hanh" both published by Literature Publishing House in 2021.

Poet Nguyen Tien Thanh is famous among Hanoi students as he was a prominent figure in the student poetry movement at Hanoi University in the 1980s. His poems were hand-copied by students and passed around to read. This new collection of poems includes 39 poems, expressing the poet's reflections and contemplations on life and love in middle age.

Launching the poetry collection "Vien Ca" by poet Nguyen Tien Thanh. Photo: Van Vi

Poet Nguyen Tien Thanh shared: "Working as a journalist, a profession related to justice, I am thrown around too much by life so I don't have time to create poetry. "Vien ca" is the journey that people must go through in their destiny journey. On that journey, I encounter many landscapes, I only record those scenes with words and emotions. In the journey of life, every step is a change, poetry is the same, each poem is a continuation of different emotions and associations".

Poet Nguyen Tien Thanh shares about the poetry collection.

At the launching ceremony, researchers, writers, and journalists all emphasized that "Vien Ca" is a turning point in Nguyen Tien Thanh's poetic creation. There is still a hint of elegance in the structure, language, and tone; so that old topics are still interesting to read. But the sobriety, rationality, and self-awareness have increased. Poet Nguyen Quang Thieu, Chairman of the Vietnam Writers Association, was surprised when Nguyen Tien Thanh launched the poetry collection "Vien Ca".

"We were in the poetry club together since Thanh was a student. When I read "Vien Ca", it gave me two surprises. I thought that Tien Thanh would forget poetry as a manager, but one autumn day, he reappeared in a different spirit. A different period and rhythm.

"Vien Ca" has many six-eight poems, making me think of the image of the agarwood tree, the leaves are still the same, the tree is still the same but inside the tree is the accumulated agarwood scent. Tien Thanh's poetry is like that, he goes through this life, the joys and sorrows, the inspirations, with an open eye to look at this life, bringing him experiences and accumulations. It is still the same style, the form does not change, it is still very traditional but the romance is still like youth, the adventure is still like youth but each day it carries a bigger message because it flows in the stream of thought. That is why, many friends when reading his poems before, received this collection of poems with surprise, contemplation. Poetry has many paths, Tien Thanh chose the path, going hidden in life, until the day it is revealed. Vien Ca still cures the trembling of poetry but is full of the philosophy of this life", poet Nguyen Quang Thieu shared.

Writing about the poetry collection “Vien Ca”, critic Nguyen Hoai Nam, Nhan Dan Newspaper, member of the Central Council for Literature and Art Theory and Criticism, said: “His new poetry collection is richer in the depth of his thoughts, the uniqueness of his language and the system of poetic images. Nguyen Tien Thanh does not advocate innovation in poetry, his poetry even leans more towards the classical side. However, reading his poetry, one can always feel a certain freshness, the freshness in the poetry of a poet who constantly digs deep to find himself and constantly thinks about distant horizons.”

Source: https://vov.vn/van-hoa/van-hoc/nha-tho-nguyen-tien-thanh-ra-mat-tap-tho-vien-ca-post1117330.vov