“Se Sẽ Chứ” Poetry Night at VinUniversity through Youths’ Eyes

*Written by Nguyen Quang Truong, Student of the College of Engineering and Computer Science

“Above days, and even sorrows
Poetry is the white cloud of my life”
(White clouds of my life, Luu Quang Vu)

For Luu Quang Vu, poetry plays a very important role. He conveys his thoughts, feelings, love and hope through his words. Borned and raised in the resistance period, his poems reflect the reality of war and life in the subsidy period. Over 30 years from his passing, in 2019, Director Nguyen Hoang Diep, for the first time ever, organized an annual poetry event named “Se Sẽ Chứ” to honor the spirit and heritage of two poets Luu Quang Vu – Xuan Quynh. For its 3rd season, “Se Sẽ Chứ” 2021 took place at various locations across the country such as Hoi An, Hai Phong,…and, among those, VinUniversity. The late poets Luu Quang Vu and Xuan Quynh are two prominent writers in Vietnamese modern literature. Luu Quang Vu was a famous 1980s writer, poet and playwright, with realist works such as “Forever 17”, “The Butcher’s Skin”,… Xuan Quynh was a female poet well-known for her verses – romantic, bright and always filled with compassion and love for people and life.

Last April, with the theme “A wandering night in the clouds”, “Se Sẽ Chứ” poetry night was held by the VinUni Research Club. Under the warm candle lights and in the calm scents of flowers, poetry-loving souls were taken away to a space where they can share their thoughts and feelings.

Commenting on the couplets “Above days, and even sorrows. Poetry is the white cloud of my life”, Associate Professor Le Cu Linh, Vice Dean of VinUniversity College of Health Sciences said: “For me, simple images like white clouds are not only beautiful but also highly realistic. They represent a time-transcending desire and thinking, whereby Luu Quang Vu wishes to break free from the constraints of the old society”.

Though aged only eighteen to early twenties, VinUniversity students also brought forth insightful understanding on the poem “Nhà chật” (Crowded House) by Luu Quang Vu. Student Nguyen Dai Nghia expressed: “The image of a crowded house (“nhà chật”) paints an authentic image of life in the subsidy period, so natural and down-to-earth that each individual can personally relate to one’s own family”.

Poetry reflects the poet’s thoughts and touches its readers through the power of words. Through poems, young people can live life in the 70s and 80s and understand a life that, though riddled with hardships, is always filled with love for the nation and its people as well as determination and optimism. Thus, although the two late poets Luu Quang Vu and Xuan Quynh lived generations before us, the heritage of their poetry forever remains in the readers’ hearts.