A practitioner of "Southern poetry"

Born in 1994 and raised in Hanoi, after graduating from the Academy of Journalism and Communication, Nam Thi moved to Saigon to work and mainly pursued her career here. Along with her work as an editor for several fashion and lifestyle magazines, Nam Thi has alwayspoetry practice, through composing and sharing on personal pages; being a talk show speaker about the art of poetry; or performing poetry and music on stage with other young artists... But the first big milestone in Nam Thi's path of practicing poetry was probablyPoetic loneliness- a collection of 36 of his poems, published by Tao Dan last June.

As the author describes himself, the spirit that pervades the entire collection of poems is the loneliness of a modern urban youth today. The 36 poems are written in a variety of genres, some are easy to read, some are difficult, some are short, some are epic; most are free verse without rhyme, but have a clearly arranged rhythm.

First curiosity, what does your pen name Nam Thi mean?

Actually, I don't remember when that name came from. It has been familiar to me for a long time, surpassing the limit of a pen name, because my father, grandmother and great-grandfather all called me Nam Thi. Honestly, the birth name Le Viet Thi sounds more impressive, but Nam Thi is softer and means "poetry of the South", so I often introduce this name.

"Poetic Solitude" - is this book dedicated to readers who can feel and appreciate loneliness?

I named the bookPoetic loneliness, has 4 words, but has 3 meanings: Loneliness is a very poetic and lyrical thing; Loneliness is the origin of Nam Thi's poetry; and Loneliness creates Nam Thi himself, because my name also means "poetry".

This book is first and foremost for its author, and as it moves from the depths of me, it will reach the depths of everyone. Aside from the poetry, the character sitting with his chin resting on his hand on the cover, and the Afterword at the end, all of them are left anonymous, which helps to expand the scope of the work. Everyone can "fill" their face in it, see themselves living in it.

While works of art such as books, music... in Vietnam today often focus onlonely, then Nam Thi is loyal toaloneIs that loneliness inherent in you, or was it formed during your growing up process?

Everything comes from personal circumstances. If it sounds a bit “sentimental”, I hope readers will sympathize. Because I lived alone for too long, and in many situations such as illness, exams, the first time presenting poetry, and many firsts of a Hanoi boy, all “only I know, only I am good at”, so that is what created my soul.

It's not that I don't have family or friends, but there are difficult times in life, everyone has to follow their own flow, I have no reason to ask everyone to focus on me. I am comfortable with that alone because I know how to accept the situation.

SoaloneIs it a state, or a material, that an artist needs to create artistic products?

It is indeed a state and a material, but whether it is necessary or not depends on the "constitution" of that artist.

How long did it take you to compose the 36 poems in "Poetic Solitude"? Are they associated with a certain stage or experience in your life?

I don't have a process of composing a manuscript, because since I was in school I've been writing in my notebook:In times of hardship I take refuge in poetry. My personality doesn't like complaining because I find it meaningless, so I transform it into poetry, and I pour my heart into words so I just keep writing. When people said "Put out a book, Thi", I compiled 36 poems that all have the same thing in common.conceptinto this manuscript.

The poems span from 2016 to 2020, some of which were written in the past and were still simple and naive, but clear; I like it that way, because I want to see a journey of my own growth-words. The system of 36 poems is associated with 10 years of loneliness since the day my family was no longer together, and Hanoi, the place where I was born, witnessed all of that.

During the release of "Poetic Solitude", do you have any special memories?

The most special memory was more than 3 years of waiting. When I finished the manuscript, I was very confident, but every time I "went out in the night" knocking on the doors of publishers, they did not refuse, but because poetry is a very uncommercial art form (and my poetry is not easy to read), they told me to wait for the right time. Finally, Tao Dan - a publishing company famous for the quality of academic books accepted my manuscript. But from that nod until the release, there was still a continued silence of waiting.

The important thing is that during the 3 years of waiting, I did not sit still. I thought that books are needed, but sooner or later, I should continue to write. Actually, if this book had been printed in 2018, it probably would not have had such a good effect as it does now.

Is it too early to share?What is the biggest thing you get out of publishing your book??

It was too early indeed. But one thing I could clearly feel was the love that many people, including my seniors in the profession, recognized, which made me very happy.

One of the "special" things about Nam Thi is that he is the nephew of Duong Tuong - a translator admired by many readers. Is Mr. Duong Tuong a source of inspiration or a teacher in your poetic path? What is the greatest thing you learned from your grandfather?

Mr. Duong Tuong is a great source of inspiration not only for me, but also for my grandchildren. It would be a pity to be the grandchild of a great figure in Vietnamese literature and not be proud of it and take it as inspiration.

When he knew that I was the only grandchild in the family pursuing a career in poetry, he said, “Very good, but the path of writing is hard, my child.” He always advised me to know how to have fun with words, but in a kind and serious way. That is what I learned from him.

Exactly at this time a year ago, at the event introducing the English version of Truyen Kieu (Kieu in Duong Tuong's version), translator Duong Tuong shared that the inspiration to translate Kieu came from the days of reading Truyen Kieu with his grandchildren. Have you ever had memories and moments like that with your grandfather?

During the months when Mr. Tuong was translating Truyen Kieu into English, I was often away. I knew about his plan but did not have the opportunity to accompany him. The moments I had with Mr. Tuong were conversations about poetry. For example, when I completed the manuscript of this poetry collection, I sent it to him for review. He was very busy but unexpectedly read it right away. A few days later, he called and said, "I need to talk to you" in a voice full of emotion and excitement, as if to acknowledge the value of my poetry. That helped me have more motivation to continue on this difficult path.

Living in bustling Saigon, creating new and strange poetic nuances, but at the same time always mentioning an old Hanoi, in the end,do you see yourself as "old" or "young"?

Actually, saying that I live in Saigon is not quite right. I never thought of moving my life from my hometown in Hanoi to anywhere. Everything is still the same, just moving more from North to South.

Of course I am young, in this collection of poems, many poems talk about the urban spirit, and I affirm my identity as "a modern urban youth today" (all 8 words, not missing a single word).

So do you think about building a stable life in Hanoi, or is Hanoi just a place where we sometimes...returnafter each intervalgo far?

Whether in Saigon or anywhere else, I still maintain the core of a Hanoian, then open my heart to receive the winds from other places, so I quickly create my own color in both lifestyle and creativity. Obviously, that has been proven by the recognition of dear friends in Saigon as well as Hanoi. I am still young, I still want to travel a lot more. When we travel enough, we will come home.

To temporarily end the conversation and open a new poetic experience, Nam Thi's poetry, I would like to send readers an excerpt from the poem "I Dream About Hanoi With You" printed in the book "Lonely Poetry". The space of Hanoi was recorded by Nam Thi, the voice of the poet himself, on the background music of the song "Remembering Hanoi" (composed by Hoang Hiep, performed by Hong Nhung).

Lam Oanh - Photo: NVCC