Rhyming the numbers of life

Báo Quốc Tế•28/10/2023

Meeting the poetess Bang Ai Tho, I realized how true the saying "literature reflects the person," meaning that one can discern a person's character through their writing. In real life, she is as gentle and compassionate as each poem she writes...

Cover image of the poetry book "The Magic of Poetry".

One breezy weekend in Hanoi , I had the opportunity to explore Ba Vi with two poets, Nguyen Bich Ngoc and Van Phong. The place we visited was a location whose very name suggested poetry, music, chess, and painting… It was Artists' Hill – the private residence of writer, poet, musician, and painter Bang Ai Tho and veteran actor Van Bau.

As soon as the car stopped, I couldn't contain my delight at the space filled with the lush green of trees and the vibrant colors of flowers swaying in the pleasant, cool late autumn sun. It would be more accurate to call it a place where the outside is a work of nature, and the inside is a garden of art.

While I was still admiring the view, the two owners arrived. Ms. Ai Tho greeted her two fellow poets with a warm smile, while I was both surprised and astonished to find that the person shaking my hand was actor Van Bau – someone I had only seen on television. Ms. Ai Tho gently said to me, "Surprised, aren't you? Many people know me but don't know about Mr. Bau, and vice versa. Today, the secret is finally revealed!"

A connection with art

Looking at Ai Tho's family lineage, one understands even more why she possesses so many talents. Born in 1958, the poet is the granddaughter of Bang Nguyen Dung (also known as Nghi Bac Ky), a descendant of the 32nd generation of Ly Thai To, the direct descendant of the third prince Ly Hung Tich Hoai Nam Vuong, and the daughter of the poet and painter Bang Si Nguyen – a multi-talented, well-educated, and renowned man of integrity.

Ai Tho's paternal uncle was the rural poet Bang Ba Lan, the leader of the Song Thuong Poetry School, famous for the two lines of poetry: "Oh, girl scooping water by the roadside / Why do you scoop up the golden moonlight and pour it away?"... Her lineage was the cradle, the great tree that the poetess Bang Ai Tho leaned on, looked to for inspiration, and persevered in her endeavors.

She shared: “When I was little, I loved reading, writing, and drawing everything around me. I drew pictures based on my innocent and pure observations. Then, from somewhere, as if driven by an invisible force, I longed to write down the naive and innocent thoughts of a child who was only 7 or 8 years old.”

“I was deeply influenced by my father, nurtured within the strict traditions of a family with a long history in Vietnamese literature. While other children were still yearning for the love and affection of their parents, I distanced myself from the world of childhood, creating quiet spaces for myself to write, draw, and for words to flourish… Images from nature sprang into my soul, and from there, I pursued my dream: to be a person who lives sincerely with the craft of writing. My father quietly encouraged his daughter when he saw my potential to continue the family tradition, cautiously but surely,” the poetess Bang Ai Tho confided.

Walking together in the garden, Ai Tho took me back in time to the past – to when she accompanied her father to the young writers' class of the Vietnam Writers Association and sat at the back listening to him discuss methods of approaching modern literature with established writers. Perhaps the literary inclination was deeply ingrained in her, like a destiny.

"The poems, paintings, music, and photographs of the ancestors in my family lineage, and the glorious journey of literature and art in our country, are the main factors that give me stronger motivation and enduring inner strength to continue the family legacy," she shared.

Imbued with the wisdom of her family's ancestors, no matter where she goes or what she does, the country and its people always remain present and play a leading role in her poems, melancholic musical pieces, and paintings, all imbued with the spirit of Vietnam.

Bang Ai Tho has won three national literary awards. She has also won three music awards. Notably, she is a talented painter with three solo art exhibitions, and in each exhibition, the paintings were sold even before the exhibitions officially opened.

Poetry is the meaning of life, it is life itself.

Picking a fragrant rose and offering it to me, Bang Ai Tho shared about her calling to rhyme and her friendship with words: "I write poetry from the anxieties of everyday life. I always think that women are half the world, responsible for creating miracles in life, contributing with the other half to building a civilized and prosperous planet..."

That is also why Ai Tho wants her work to reach a global audience, to touch the hearts of poetry lovers, hoping to resonate with those who empathize with her poetic soul. According to her, women – besides their commonalities – each have their own unique aspects, their own hidden corners of life, which only women can understand, empathize with, and share with each other in various forms and contents. Poetry is one such form of empathy, expressed through dignified language.

"I try to be responsible with every word and hope that the messages of love from my poems will one day be welcomed and appreciated by readers around the world," she confided.

Bang Ai Tho doesn't intend to delve into any specific art form, but somewhere in her life, the sounds of life keep forming in her brain and demanding that she decipher them.

“If the language of poetry doesn’t fully convey what I want to say, then painting will do the rest. And so, various art forms have emerged, overlapping in my mind. I open my soul to make room for music to seep into my work, allowing them to intertwine. Whether joyful and vibrant or melancholic and pensive, my poetry, music, and painting naturally embrace each other, soaring and taking flight with my soul,” Ai Tho explained.

The couple Van Bau and Ai Tho. (Photo: MH)

Arriving at the harbor of love

Life was not kind to Bang Ai Tho on her path of destiny, but she resisted the harshness of fate and rose above the storms of life.

She said, "For more than half my life, Mr. Bau has been by my side, becoming my friend as if by destiny. He understands my work to some extent and finds ways to share it. He rejoices with me when I let go of work and wander, immersing myself in nature like a little bird outdoors. He reads my works and adapts them for literary programs through his voice, emotions, and nuances, conveying the messages in the works with full responsibility. My works, which he reads and performs, have been welcomed and appreciated by readers and listeners both domestically and internationally, who have shown special affection for my husband and me."

Through her own efforts, Bang Ai Tho's works have spread throughout the world. Besides her poetry collections being published in magazines in many countries, her poetry anthology, "Magical Poetry, " has also been published and distributed in Canada, France, Spain, and Germany.

She said, “I still am, and will continue to be, dedicated to my craft of writing poetry, like the ups and downs of fate that shape life. Thank you, fate, for not creating an inescapable circle for any living being. When we are born as human beings, when we find ourselves in some ironic situation, believe that the way out is before us. Fate is merely fluctuating and changing, playing tricks on human existence. We ourselves must strive to overcome fate, to change our path, and find balance in our lives.”

Farewell, Ms. Bang, the lady of music, chess, poetry, and painting. I am truly impressed by the resilience and immense strength hidden within this small, gentle woman. I wish you continued good health and happiness so that you may continue the responsibilities that have been intertwined with your life, like a line on your palm bearing the mark of destiny. As you said, write what needs to be written while time still allows you to enjoy this life.

Poet, painter, and musician Bang Ai Tho has published seven volumes of poetry, including her latest work, which was published bilingually in Canada: Silent Eyes (Vietnam Writers Association Publishing House), Light from a Pebble (Vietnam Writers Association Publishing House), Early Spring Morning (Literature Publishing House), Returning to Myself (Vietnam Writers Association Publishing House), Loose Sand (Vietnam Writers Association Publishing House), White Wax and Roses (Vietnam Writers Association Publishing House), and The Magic of Poetry (Ukiyoto Canada Publishing House), printed in Germany in German.

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