Our first writer for the year that starts on Monday is the poet Nguyen Chi Thien. Thien was the first writer we ever published.
The first guest at Tet reflects the aspirations of a household. Read about Thien in Jonathan Hill’s strip for Viet Nam Literature Comics.
Read our selection from Nguyen Ngoc Bich’s translations of Thien’s prison poems. See Thien’s own account of his life for Viet Nam Literature Project.
Thien’s life and work embody the theme of all the literatures of Viet Nam. We read and write to live beyond illusion.
‘Real life is like a hospital.
They ply you with such bitter drugs
yet cannot cure you of two ills:
forever you have caught desire and hope.’
Viet Nam Literature Project blogs about our encyclopedia, our comics and translations as we develop our university program. Donors receive our print newsletter and annual comic book.
Thank you for such a lovely introduction for your first guest at Tet. There are lots of articles and photographs on the website I got together for Nguyen Chi Thien, above.
I just like the helpful information you provide in your articles. I will bookmark your blog and take a look at once more here frequently. I am rather sure I’ll be informed a lot of new stuff right here! Best of luck for the following!
Thanks for the good words. We have been offline since February 2012. We hope to resume regular publication this fall. Best – Dan