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I had translated "The Tale of Kiều" by Nguyễn Du in 2022 in the hope of providing to the literature enthusiasts a most poetic, literary and easy-to-read side-by-side English translation of the greatest Vietnamese poetry masterpiece. Although there are some other existing English translations, most of them cannot be accessed freely, and none of them are translated by a bilingual poet and one who's well-versed in writing Vietnamese poetry in all poetry forms, and had grown up reading Shakespeare and The Lords of the Rings in high school.
Hopefully, this website will also help young Vietnamese who grew up abroad to learn more about their cultural roots.
Vuong Thanh
June 2023
Preface of "A Garden of Vietnamese Lyrics & Verse, Volume 1"
The Vietnamese people love poetry. Folk verse has been used in Vietnam for thousands of years to pass down common wisdom, customs, traditions, and field knowledge from one generation to the next, even before there was a written language. Children grow up with lullabies; lullabies are easy to sing and remember since they use the innately melodious Vietnamese six-eight poetry form. The six tones of the Vietnamese language and its abundance of word rhymes help make writing verses fairly easy and fun.
The phrase “beautiful like poetry” is commonly used in Vietnam to praise and express delight for something that one finds poetically beautiful. Poetry’s source of inspiration is often angelized as a poet’s heart friend and an enchanting dream fairy.
Prince General Trần Hưng Đạo’s famous address to his officers, in the thirteenth century, is a mighty poem that touched and united the hearts of hundreds of thousands of women and men to defend the homeland from the overwhelming invasions of the Mongolian dynasty.
From the villages to the cities, from the common people to high ranking officials, from literature to politics, from love’s torment to Zen enlightenment, poetry and music pervade many aspects of Vietnamese life. Most Vietnamese probably have written some love poems at one time or another. Many can easily recall popular song lyrics or verses when the occasion arises.
In this book, I would like to share with the reader my collection of favorite Vietnamese song lyrics and poems. Many selections are very well-known to Vietnamese around the world. Several other wonderful poems and songs are selected for translation from the writings of my contemporaries.
A poem or song is not unlike a flower, wherever it blooms. Although its fragrance usually diminishes to some extent when transported from its native home to foreign soil, it was overall a worthwhile endeavor and a delightful journey to bring over homeland flowers and replant them in the universal English garden to share with poetry lovers around the world. I wish the reader a pleasant time walking in “A Garden of Vietnamese Lyrics & Verse” and enjoy the exotic fragrances of flowers from the Orient.
Vuong Thanh
August 2019
Contact info: lachongpoetry@gmail.com
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