Vang A Giang - Unique poetic voice in the mountains and forests of Simacai

Poet Vang A Giang. Photo: Provided by the character

I met Vang A Giang on Poetry Day 2024 at Thang Long Imperial Citadel (Hanoi Capital) and was immediately impressed by a Mong man who was quite reserved, even a bit shy. That day, he attentively read two lines of his poem printed solemnly on the leaves of the "poetry tree": "Wanting your hands/ to knead corn flour into men men/ so delicious that the whole village craves...". It is known that these two lines are excerpts from the poem "Coc Re" - a poem he wrote when he was in unrequited love with a girl. One day, he remembered that girl and just like that, his longing and desire guided the poems to fly.

According to his explanation, since ancient times, the Mong people have settled in the highlands, so men men is the main food. To make men men requires many steps, so the cook's hands need to be skillful. When skillfulness is combined with plump, quality corn kernels, it will produce delicious men men. Mong men like skillful women to take care of the kitchen and Mong women like strong men to take care of them. The verse/poem is the desire of lovers for a happy home.

At that time, he was working for a restaurant in Hanoi. Then, after a while, he said he returned to his hometown to do farming because the city was not suitable for him. If you read his poems, you will see that he is a young man who longs to be loved, longs to do something for his people, his homeland. His "nature" is so rustic and sincere that readers think he will not be able to leave the mountains and forests.

“My love for literature was not intentional. I don’t know when literature came to me. I only know that during my secondary school years, I wrote naive and innocent “poems” of student age. Over time, my love for literature grew and my decision to study at the Faculty of Writing and Journalism at the University of Culture is proof of that love,” poet Vang A Giang confided.

Poet Vang A Giang wrote quite a lot of poems and his poems have been published in many central and local newspapers, but due to conditions not allowing, he has not been able to own a private collection of poems. Some of his outstanding poems include: "Nho", "Trap trung tinh Khau Vai", "Say Tay Bac", "Chum ruou", "Noi long me", "Tet que em", "Ngoi nha cu", "Say o Nan Sin"... For him, writing is a process, not a destination. The writer is like a person picking up pebbles, the difference is that he is proactive (objective and subjective), creating pebbles as he wishes. In his compositions, pebbles sparkle.

Poet Vang A Giang's poem was introduced on Vietnam Poetry Day 2024. Photo: Provided by the character

The greatest honor in Vang A Giang's literary career is that he was honored to be the only representative of Lao Cai province invited to participate in the 10th National Conference of Young Writers organized by the Vietnam Writers Association in Da Nang city in 2022. There, he listened to good sharing about writing skills and experiences of his peers and previous generations; to interact and confide to connect, to love life and literature more.

He was “guided by the hand” to know what a good work is, to know the atmosphere of contemporary literature. Those are valuable provisions to have more confidence and love for his writing work. He himself sees it as a great honor, a great joy, and at the same time, it is the responsibility of a writer, to write well, to reflect the rhythm of life of the times, to go to the end of lives, the private and public voices.

As a Mong ethnic, Vang A Giang greatly admires the father and son writers Ma A Lenh - Ma Anh Lam, especially Ma A Lenh. In the generation when there was not enough food and clothes, he not only kept it but also burned with the works that made his name. He admires the writer Ma A Lenh, because he always ache for culture, the origin of the nation and he thinks that these are the basic things he must have to be more steadfast in writing. “From the great example of Ma A Lenh, I have paid great attention to ethnic identity in poetry. That is the cultural “identity” for readers to recognize me/my people. I often use images and metaphors that are close to my people, but I am also conscious of finding new things and beauty. I hope to bring readers the most realistic and accurate view of the natural scenery of the mountainous region and the life and people there” - he shared.

Although he is on the right track, poet Vang A Giang believes that the depth of cultural identity is limitless and therefore, he is still trying every day to be able to compose works that breathe the breath of the times but still retain the roots of Mong ethnic culture. The road ahead for the 9X poet is still very difficult, in addition to finding a place for himself in the literary world, he is also facing the arduous task of making a living. As for those who compose poetry in the land "where the Red River flows into Vietnam" like poet Po Sao Min, they are still full of optimism, believing in the "young" generation like Vang A Giang.

The many changes in life have also greatly affected poets and their poetic mindset. However, with the transmission of previous ethnic minority poets, with the pride of a Mong ethnic child, many people believe that Vang A Giang's literary ability will go further, especially when he confidently shared: "In the near future, I will publish a book of my own poems. It is a way for me to reach the public as well as a creative process for me to build my own artistic house."

According to Border Guard Newspaper

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/vang-a-giang-giong-tho-doc-dao-noi-nui-rung-si-ma-cai-post386219.html