40 authors were honored at the 3rd Chùa Village Poetry Contest.

On the morning of December 14th, in Hanoi, the awards ceremony for the 3rd Chùa Village Poetry Contest, themed "Poetry and Origins," honored 40 outstanding authors, marking the strong spread of a poetry competition originating from the countryside but reaching out to the world.

First prize was awarded to three authors with outstanding works.

The competition was initiated by the Chùa Village Poetry Association in 2007. The third competition, launched in February 2025, attracted over 500 participants from Vietnam and abroad, ranging from amateur writers to renowned poets. Participation was not limited to Vietnam but extended to many countries such as the USA, Colombia, Uganda, Uruguay, Romania, Spain, and Palestine…

A unique aspect of the competition is that all submitted poems are publicly posted on the personal Facebook page of poet Nguyen Quang Thieu, President of the Vietnam Writers Association and also the competition secretary. This approach creates a space for direct interaction between authors, readers, and the judging panel, helping to bring poetry closer to the contemporary public.

Foreign authors receive the Dedication Award.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, poet Nguyen Quang Thieu said that the theme "Poetry and Origins" truly touched the deepest parts of the writer's soul. "Everyone has the right and the desire to express their love for the land that nurtured them, for their culture," he emphasized. According to poet Nguyen Quang Thieu, each collection of poems submitted was a unique voice, full of imagery and emotion, emanating from specific lands and people. "Even if those lands are distant and unfamiliar, they all contain the beauty and sacredness of earthly life," poet Nguyen Quang Thieu expressed.

The organizing committee awarded 3 A prizes, 7 B prizes, 16 C prizes, along with 5 Special prizes and 9 Contribution prizes. The A prizes went to authors Ly Huu Luong, Truong Xuan Thien, and Trang Thanh. The Special prizes were awarded to authors who showcased the beauty of resilience in life, while the Contribution prizes were given to foreign poets who contributed to poetry and friendship between nations.

According to poet Nguyen Viet Chien, a member of the judging panel, the winning works, while diverse in style, share a common point: the homeland is viewed as an irreplaceable cultural and spiritual space. "The love for the homeland in these poems is not only a personal emotion but also the voice of the community, of cultural memory and national identity," he remarked.

In 1982, the Chùa Village Poetry Association was established (in Hoàng Dương village, Ứng Hòa district, Hanoi , now Sơn Tiến commune, Hanoi); since then, the association has grown and become an indispensable activity in the spiritual life of the people of Chùa village (now Hoàng Dương village, Hanoi). This is considered the only village in Vietnam known as a "poetry village," because here, from children as young as 5-6 years old to the elderly, everyone can write poetry. To date, three Chùa Village poetry competitions have been held, all maintaining the same theme : Poetry and its origins.

VINH XUAN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/40-tac-gia-duoc-vinh-danh-tai-cuoc-thi-tho-lang-chua-lan-thu-3-post828657.html