New book on work of late poet Hoàng Cầm to be released

HÀ NỘI — The Writers Association Publishing House and HC 100 project will release a new book to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of poet Hoàng Cầm (1922-2010). 

Called Hoàng Cầm về Kinh Bắc (Hoàng Cầm Returns to Kinh Bắc) includes the poetry collection Về Kinh Bắc (Returns to Kinh Bắc) by Hoàng Cầm, selected articles by authors Hoàng Hưng, Nguyễn Thuỵ Kha, Đỗ Lai Thuý, Chu Văn Sơn, Phạm Xuân Nguyên, Trần Thanh Cảnh, Nguyễn Đức Tùng, Lê Thị Thanh Tâm, and Lê Hồ Quang, and some precious documents.

The book launch will be held at the French Institute in Hà Nội and broadcast live on the Facebook pages of the institute on February 12.

Poster of the book launch event. — Photo courtesy of the organiser

Poetic critic Hoàng Hưng, poet Nguyễn Thuỵ Kha, literary critic Phạm Xuân Nguyên, photographer Nguyễn Đình Toán and Ms Bùi Huệ Chi – on behalf of poet Hoàng Cầm’s family, will all take part in the event.

Hoàng Cầm was born in 1922 into an intellectual family in Thuận Thành District in the northern province of Bắc Giang. 

He began writing poems at the age of eight and his poems were first published when he was 14. He graduated from senior high school in 1940 and began his career as a writer and translator.

He was a founding member of the Việt Nam Writers Association in 1957. In 2007, he was awarded the State Prize for Literature and Arts, the highest award in Việt Nam.

His famous works include poems Bên Kia Sông Đuống (The Other Side of Đuống River) and Lá Diêu Bông (Love Leaves), and the dramatic play Kiều Loan (Ms Kiều Loan), which highlight themes about the country, women and love.

Bên Kia Sông Đuống is used in textbooks for high school students. 

Kiều Loan has been adapted into plays and chèo (traditional opera) staged by leading theatres in Hà Nội and northern provinces, including the Việt Nam Drama Theatre and Hà Nội Chèo Theatre. VnExpress News