Poet and journalist Nhu Mai

Sharp, insightful, yet also spontaneous, it seems as though two contrasting personalities emerge within Nhu Mai when she appears in the two roles of poet and journalist.

The late journalist Nhu Mai.

Poet and journalist Như Mai, whose real name was Ngô Huy Bỉnh, was originally from Hưng Yên, born in 1924 in Hải Phòng, and grew up and studied in Hanoi. Như Mai became involved in revolutionary activities at the young age of 20, heading the National Salvation Youth in Zone 2 and working for the newspaper Cứu Quốc (National Salvation). His pen name, Như Mai, is a combination of the names of two lovers, one of whom later became his wife. During that time, Như Mai often wrote essays. He inherited his father's keen essay writing style. His father, Ngô Huy Văn (former Deputy Director of the Post Office), often signed his articles under the pen name Chu Thượng in the newspaper "Trung Bắc Tân Văn" during the French colonial period. For a time, Như Mai used the pen name Chu Thượng again in the "Newly Revised Folk Tales" section of the newspaper Lao Động (Labor).

After peace was restored, Nhu Mai worked at the Press Department. In 1956, the Central Committee organized a writing camp in Hanoi , focusing on the success of land reform. He participated, along with Tran Dan, Le Dat, Hoang Cam, and others. One day, after reading an editorial in the Nhan Dan newspaper criticizing the mechanical and formulaic style of writing, he immediately wrote the short story "The Machine Poet." In issue 5 of the "Nhan Van" newspaper—his final issue—he published the short story "The Machine Poet" under the pen name Cham Van Biem, attacking the formulaic, mechanical, bland, and pointless style of writing.

Journalist Hoang Quoc Hai and the late journalist Nhu Mai.

From 1958, Nhu Mai worked at the Mining Region Newspaper (later the Quang Ninh Newspaper) as the Head of the Industry Team, then as the Editorial Secretary. In 1987, journalist Nhu Mai retired and subsequently worked as a contributing editor for the Ha Long Newspaper. The Ha Long Literature and Arts Newspaper, where poet Nhu Mai served as the editorial secretary, has become increasingly popular with readers.

This was largely thanks to the masterful skills of journalist Nhu Mai, a meticulous, skilled, and cautious journalist who fiercely fought against negativity through literature. Still employing her literary style of criticism under pseudonyms like "May Gat" (Sweeper Machine) or "Cham Van Biem" (Satirical Literary Criticism), Nhu Mai strengthened the critical stance of Ha Long Newspaper, criticizing the bad and the backward, and fighting against negativity. During Nhu Mai's time, the newspaper published short stories such as "The Haunted Pond" by Tran Quang Vinh; and had regular satirical columns like "Lao Khuong" (Old Man Stunned).

Thanks to this, the Ha Long Newspaper was warmly welcomed by readers whenever it was published. Even before the newspaper was released, people eagerly awaited its release to buy and read the articles published in the previous issue, to see who wrote in which section and what articles were written; they read it because someone had whispered beforehand that this issue contained such or such articles... Many readers became fans of the Ha Long Newspaper. The newspaper sold like hotcakes, not only among artists and writers but also among the general public. Mentioning Nhu Mai and the time when the Ha Long Newspaper was published once a month, and connecting it to today when it has been upgraded to two issues a month, is truly an important milestone in the development of the Ha Long Newspaper.

Besides his role as a journalist, Nhu Mai is also known to readers as a poet. Nhu Mai's poetry is heavily imbued with the sentiments of the times. But there is another aspect to his poetry, love poetry, which truly reflects Nhu Mai's style—a heartfelt, moving, and spontaneous tone that flows with his emotions. Throughout his life, he wrote many poems, but only published one collection titled "Improvisations."

In recognition of his contributions to his homeland, country, and the field of journalism, journalist and poet Nhu Mai was honored with many prestigious awards, such as: the First Class Resistance Medal, the First Class Anti-American Resistance Medal, the Commemorative Medal for participation in the General Uprising to seize power, and numerous certificates of merit for his work in journalism and literature and art. In 2020, he passed away, leaving behind immeasurable sorrow for his colleagues and readers who loved literature and journalism.

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/nha-tho-nha-bao-nhu-mai-3245384.html