People return to Mai Hoa Trang

Writing books and volunteering

Mai Hoa confided that she had loved writing since she was young, and despite the hardships of making a living, she still could not stop writing. However, when her marriage broke down, writing suddenly flared up, becoming her support. Mai Hoa rushed in to embrace it tightly, filling it up, passionately, sublimating each heartfelt word.

Poet Mai Hoa. Photo provided by character

“At that time, I wrote like crazy,” the poetess pondered. The late blooming season, in just 5 years (2019 - 2024), Mai Hoa has “given birth” to 11 books. On the night of Thien Nhan, listening to Tran Ha Yen recite “The woman who marries sadness”. The poetic voice is quiet after the storm. Quiet like the water of Ho Thanh opposite Mai Hoa Trang. Simple and exhausted. I feel why she is so passionate, warm, and proud.

Poet Mai Hoa discovered “marrying sadness”: “One day I married sadness myself/ Recalling my youth/ Sometimes I dreamed/ When my hair was still green/ I wished to have/ A prince who loved me/ Like a fairy tale love story”… Because men and women are always the same: “For decades/ I’ve gotten used to missing out/ Raising my children’s childhood amidst the hustle and bustle of life/ I’m proud like a lotus flower in the mud/ Just blooming alone without knowing loneliness”. Because love is never peaceful: “I woke up from my dream after days of turmoil in love with you/ Seeing the red sunlight of dawn still gentle in my eyes/ You are no longer the prince I longed to meet/ And my hand holds mine tightly again”…

Besides poetry, Mai Hoa's love energy is also devoted to painting, with brilliant and dark colors.

As everyone in the literary community knows, poet Mai Hoa is a quiet but extremely effective volunteer, helping many people in need have more opportunities to rise up. Her regular address is cancer hospitals. During many floods in the Central region, her small figure appeared in many of the most difficult areas. But when taking pictures, she often... retreated to the back. When Ho Chi Minh City was at the peak of the COVID-19 epidemic and was hot, she still wore a conical hat and a face mask to mobilize and deliver food to charity kitchens.

Poet Mai Hoa's real name is Vo Mai Hoa, a member of the Vietnam Writers Association . Published books: Giac mong hoang hoa (poetry, 2019); Nguoi da nuoi noi buoc (poetry, 2020); Buoc huyen dem (poetry, 2020); Nguoi trong giac mo (novel, 2020); Duyen (essay, 2021); Khoang troi cua grandma (bilingual Vietnamese - English children's poetry, 2022); Cat (poetry, 2023); Vong thien ha (poetry, 2023); Quan tran gioi (story collection, 2023); Hoa tho tay be (children's poetry, 2024); On the wings of time (essay, 2024).

Every year, Mai Hoa spends time going to schools to give books to students. After selling the book “Khoang troi cua grandma”, she donated 60 million VND to an orphanage. With the book “Hoa thom tay be”, when selling 20 million VND, she immediately donated it to Chu Se orphanage ( Gia Lai )…

Thien Nhan sky corner

During the short meetings, Mai Hoa told us about her life in fragments. She was from Nam Dan district, Nghe An; she went to Hanoi to study commerce, then settled down in Hai Phong; then moved to Ho Chi Minh City. “I have three hometowns: Nghe An, Hai Phong and Saigon. I started out in Nghe An, and returned here at the end of my life,” she said.

In early 2024, when her children were grown up in the South, she packed her bags and returned to the mountains of Thien Nhan to build Mai Hoa Trang. She spent all her capital; then her relatives contributed. She took care of everything by herself, from clearing the site to designing and constructing.

Writer Nhu Binh said: “Last year during the rainy season, I felt sorry for Mai Hoa when I went to Thien Nhan to visit her. The road was long and the path was blurred. She had to pave bags of cement to get into her house. She single-handedly pushed dozens of carts of materials and scraps every day. Then she diligently planted each tree, vegetable bed, and flower of all kinds. In just a few months, Mai Hoa Trang took shape amidst the harsh sun and rain of Thien Nhan forest. After that, she sat down to write and do charity work.”

A corner of Mai Hoa Trang (Thien Nhan, Nam Dan, Nghe An). Photo: Hung Phien

In April 2025, I flew from Buon Ma Thuot to Nghe An to attend the children's literature writing camp of the Writers' Association. The writing camp was hosted by Mai Hoa at Mai Hoa Trang, next to Thien Nhan mountain range, Nam Kim commune, Nam Dan district. For several years now, the Children's Literature Council of the Writers' Association has been at the forefront of socializing writing camps. That is, mobilizing sponsors to sponsor a part of the cost, the rest is contributed by writers participating in the camp. The writing camp program focuses on connection, focusing on creative efficiency.

Busy with food and accommodation for more than 20 people of all ages and personalities all week, Mai Hoa is still happy to help her writing friends. I joked, “Opening her house to create a writing camp is a courageous act.” She smiled, “I am not talented and have little strength, I only wish to help writers have the conditions to go and write. I hope to produce more useful works.”

A week of guests chirping, then she quietly takes care of the house and spends the night typing on the computer. Now she writes clear lines of poetry: “There’s going to be a downpour/ The tamarinds and crocodiles are smiling/ Sister Wind is flying around/ Gathering the Clouds/ Uncle Thunder is shouting really loudly/ Miss Rain is crying/ The toad is croaking/ Jumping out from the crack in the threshold/ The leaves are waving/ Dancing with Miss Rain” (Thank you Miss Rain). “The funny woodpecker/ Chirping all over the porch/ The purple pea trellis/ Reaching out to greet the bougainvillea/ The young sun is creeping over the plump clouds/ The apricot blossoms are budding softly” (Spring in My House). For her, “children are the most beautiful sky for adults to return to”.

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/van-hoa-du-lich-van-hoc-nghe-thuat/202505/nguoi-ve-mai-hoa-trang-46f0676/