Hanoi is still the center of the country’s poetic life with many famous poets and famous works; at the same time, it is a place for connecting and exchanging with the world’s poetry through many activities such as Vietnam Poetry Day, Literary Promotion Conference… The seminar is also a premise for Hanoi Writers’ Association to meet new members and writer, selecting high-quality works to publish poetry collections about Hanoi in the coming time.
During the war period (1945-1975), the image of Hanoi appeared with many levels of emotions such as romance and magnificence in the poems of Tay Tien by poet Quang Dung (Mắt trừng gửi mộng qua biên giới/ Đêm mơ Hà Nội dáng kiều thơm) or the anthem “Em ơi Hà Nội phố” by poet Phan Vu.
After 1975 until now, Hanoi has returned to peacetime, associated with individual stories, feelings and confidences. Commenting on this period, Dr. Do Anh Vu (Voice of Vietnam) said that only sincerity in love in Hanoi is the only source that makes poems and verses lingering in readers’ memories. A series of poems about peacetime Hanoi have been compiled into famous songs by musicians such as Có phải em mùa thu Hà Nội (poem of To Nhu Chau), Hà Nội mùa này vắng những cơn mưa (poem of Bui Thanh Tuan), Hà Nội ngày trở về (poem of Thanh Tung)… The songs come to life and make the works vital which proves the long-lasting vitality of the poems about Hanoi.
Poet Hoang Nhuan Cam commented that after the day of reunification (1975), the topic of war continued to stretch in poetry about Hanoi. Those are poems about the soldiers’ nostalgia about the battlefield, about the deaths, about the status quo and the post-war issues. Later, poems have focused more on a new life, discovered a new beauty in the work of the people of Hanoi. Over the past time, Hanoi poets have joined the fight against COVID-19, they consider the fight against COVID-19 as a war against the enemy also with aura and pride. Poets became soldiers and the pages were ramparts.
At the seminar, presentations showed that there was a flow of Hanoi poetry from thousands of years ago, with long-lasting vitality in the heart of the public, from the rhymes about beauty, people, life in kingdoms to poems through feudal dynasties. In particular, a series of poems by the celebrity in the second half of the 18th century – the first half of the 19th century used Thang Long as a memory of an unforgettable period. The famous poems include ‘Thăng Long hoài cổ’ of Thanh Quan District Head’s Wife with her nostalgic poems with regretful memories: Lối xưa xe ngựa hồn thu thảo/ Nền cũ lâu đài bóng tịch dương.
“It takes time to absorb and settle to have poems like those of Thanh Quan District Head’s Wife, Cao Ba Quat, Chinh Huu, Quang Dung, Luu Quang Vu, Pham Tien Duat. I believe that poems composed about Hanoi written with heart and enthusiasm will endure for a long time. And talented poets of Hanoi are coming…”, shared poet Hoang Nhuan Cam.
X.T