Distilling life into poetry

In 2024, after a long journey of artistic creation with dozens of books, including 5 poetry books, poet Ta Van Sy (Kon Tum ward, Quang Ngai province) released his sixth poetry collection with a simple name that fully conveys the intention of the "mountainous motorbike taxi poet" (the intimate name that literary friends often call him): "Chosen Poetry".

The collection of poems includes more than 100 poems published by the Writers Association Publishing House.

Over the years of writing, poet Ta Van Sy has impressed readers with many prestigious awards. With the collection “Selected Poems”, the author once again affirms his creative energy, helping readers have a multi-dimensional view and feel more deeply what the collection of poems brings.

Indeed, as a collection of selected poems, all the cherished thoughts and quintessence are gathered in it. And then, following each poem, each sentence, we discover the colors of life, the confessions about the human world, the consequences of the past, in which the purity and sincerity of human love, the love of life shines through each verse.

In a poem, Ta Van Sy portrayed himself: "Once upon a time, there was a poet/ Born at the wrong time/ So his life was full of hardships/ His steps to fame were ruined, his steps to love were ruined...". Perhaps this is a humorous quality, a self-mockery that naturally comes from a person who knows enough, lives enough for his passions? In the first poem of the book, he sees the poet as a "miserable beggar". A very innocent and lovely comparison and reflection: "Gathering life's things to make private capital" (Poet, p.11). He also portrayed himself: "Living through the years/ The days and months slip behind/ Eyes get used to seeing mountains/ So the soul is green like the forest!" (In Kon Tum , p.12).

Those who have met him all commented that Ta Van Sy is a calm, quiet person, but has the ability to lure people into a conversation in a humorous and witty way. Among hundreds of members of the Vietnam Writers Association and the Vietnam Association of Literature and Arts of Ethnic Minorities, Ta Van Sy has no qualifications. Not to be sad about that, but with his knowledge and life experience, the poet has distilled philosophical and contemplative poems: "All alcohol is bland / Asking the bar to find something stronger / Burning my heart and soul sitting with friends / Drunk on alcohol, drunk on people, drunk on Quy Nhon" ... or: "Tomorrow I will return to the mountain / Standing as a stone statue on the mountainside / Looking out towards the distant sea / Missing alcohol, missing people, missing Quy Nhon" (Drunken in Quy Nhon, p.55).

The verses are imbued with the character of the land, both rough and rustic, yet soft and profound. It can be seen that in most of the poems in the collection, the nostalgia for the homeland and the concern for one's fate are persistent, sometimes appearing and sometimes hidden behind the layers of language: "Half a life is still in the realm of mourning/ A hundred years hidden in a dream/ Head bowed low, sky high/ Hands waving goodbye to nothingness" (Vi doi, p.92). Every life, every human fate will not avoid changes, turns, and twists. Poet Ta Van Sy is the same. But it is the strength hidden inside that calm, somewhat austere, and pained face that gives birth to verses that seem to burn themselves out to shine: "Sitting quietly like a statue, like a stele/ Thinking I am lost on the edge of the human world/ Dissolving with each cigarette smoke/ Each passing moment is..." (Ngoi canh, p.93).

Reading the collection "Selected Poems", we see a variety of topics, including world affairs, lyricism, gentle feelings for life, and deep emotions for relatives and friends. In addition, the poet's poems about the land of Kon Tum are dedicated to warm and sincere feelings. That is a Kon Tum appearing with four-season scenery, anxiously waiting and remembering. The poet is always proud of his second homeland, the place that has sheltered him, giving him the breath of the Central Highlands mountains and forests: "You have not yet visited Kon Tum/ The mountains and forests wait for you, just watching/ Spring, the flock of little birds are absent-minded/ Coming back late, fluttering their wings hesitantly" (You have not yet visited Kon Tum, p.78).

Poet Ta Van Sy has entered his seventies, and has experienced life. His poems, no matter what topic he writes about, are filled with thoughts. "My soul is like geology/ Layers of ancient sediments/ All my life I excavate/ Looking for the original sadness!" (There is a sadness, p.12). He also wrote: "The verses cannot feed him/ Nor can they add to his glory and status/ The world appreciates the poet's heart/ Calling him a Poet" (Dedicated to a Poet, p.14). Is the poet character mentioned himself?

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/van-hoa-du-lich-van-hoc-nghe-thuat/van-hoc-nghe-thuat/202510/chat-vi-doi-thanh-nhung-ang-tho-4ee0785/