Honoring the poetic heritage of 54 ethnic groups

On February 16, in Hanoi , the Vietnam Writers Association held a press conference on the 22nd Vietnam Poetry Day with the theme "The Harmony of the Country". According to poet Nguyen Quang Thieu, Chairman of the Vietnam Writers Association, the 21st Vietnam Poetry Day, which took place for the first time at Thang Long Imperial Citadel in 2023, received the response and praise of poetry lovers nationwide. This year, the 22nd Vietnam Poetry Day continues to be held at this location.

The organizing committee informs about the 22nd Vietnam Poetry Day.

Choosing the theme "The most harmonious melody of the country", according to poet Nguyen Quang Thieu, this year's Poetry Day aims to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025), is a poetic reunion of Vietnamese ethnic groups, bringing to the public the poetic heritage of 54 ethnic groups and typical works of ethnic poets, works written about nature, land, and people of Vietnamese ethnic groups.

The 22nd Vietnam Poetry Day includes a series of rich activities taking place on February 24 and 25 (ie the 15th day of the first lunar month and the 16th day of the first lunar month of the year of Giap Thin), open from 9am to 10pm. This year, poet Tran Dang Khoa, Vice President of the Vietnam Writers Association, is in charge of the content (poetry selection, poets). All activities continue to be written by director Le Quy Duong, who is the overall scriptwriter and stage director.

According to director Le Quy Duong, in terms of overall space design, this year’s Vietnam Poetry Day is inspired by the theme “The Harmony of the Country”, with the spirit of national unity. The main events will take place on the sacred axis of Thang Long Imperial Citadel, from Doan Mon Gate to Hanoi Flag Tower.

The Poetry Gate is a crescent moon winding its way to fullness on the full moon day. Passing through the Poetry Gate is a Poetry Road decorated with stylized young leaves, with motifs on the costumes of the ethnic groups of Vietnam. On each leaf is written a beautiful poem selected by the Organizing Committee. There will be a total of 54 poems, corresponding to 54 ethnic groups.

The 22nd Vietnam Poetry Day took place on the sacred axis of Thang Long Imperial Citadel. Illustrative photo

Next is the Poetry Tree, on top of which is a half moon, with 54 poetic riddles hanging on its branches below. The final destination is the main stage - a full moon, ending the journey of the crescent moon from the Poetry Gate to the venue of the Poetry Night.

Right in the middle of the sacred axis, this year the Organizing Committee continues to build the Memory House space - a place to display memorabilia, artifacts, and works of 12 typical poets. The Memory House has the architectural shape of a long house of the Central Highlands people.

Coming to this space, the public can visit the spaces, participate in poetry quizzes and interact with authors in the Poetry Shop.

On the 15th day of the first lunar month (February 24), the main events of the 22nd Vietnam Poetry Day will take place, including the discussion "From the poet's courage to his identity" and the Nguyen Tieu Poetry Night with the theme "The country's harmony".

Poetry Night was written by poet Tran Huu Viet, written by journalist Phan Dang and hosted by runner-up Thuy Van. The program consisted of 4 parts: Performance and reading of poems by authors from the Northern region; international poets participating in the exchange and reading of poems; performance and reading of poems by authors from the Central - Central Highlands and the South; and lasting echoes.

Poet Tran Dang Khoa said that the works performed in the Poetry Night include poetic masterpieces in the folk literature treasure of Vietnamese ethnic groups; poems by 16 domestic and international authors will be read directly by the authors or performed by poets and artists.

According to poet Tran Huu Viet, this year's Poetry Night is a harmonious and balanced combination of theatrical elements in poetry performance, using musical effects, performance, sound, light, costumes... in parallel with maintaining the traditional way of reading poetry of poets, with the desire to bring the audience a complete enjoyment of excellent poetry works.

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