This Spanish poem collection published for the first time by the Kim Đồng Publishing House. Photo courtesy of Kim Đồng Publishing House

HÀ NỘI  A collection of poems, Con Vietnam (With Việt Nam) has been released for the first time in Hà Nội to highlight Spanish authors' support for the Vietnamese during war time. 

The collection was chosen as one of the gifts which the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez presented to Vietnamese leaders when he made his official visit to Việt Nam earlier this month, according to the Spanish Ambassador to Việt Nam, Carmen Cano de Lasala.

"Con Vietnam is a connecting the two countries and the peoples," said the ambassador at the book launch in Hà Nội.

"I'm honoured to be at the book launch which promotes friendship and unity between Việt Nam and Spain. Sixty years after its release, the new book could reach Vietnamese readers. 

"The book contains a lot of love from Spanish poets for Việt Nam in an unforgettable period - war of resistance against the US. The book is also considered a bridge connecting the two countries, while helping Vietnamese readers better understand contemporary Spanish poetry.

"At a time when in places in the world, people have not enjoyed peace, this collection of poems allows us to look back at the past to honour those who today continue to fight for peace and justice. The works praise the courage and sacrifice of past generations, reminding us all that freedom is priceless and we need to join hands to preserve it."

Spanish Ambassador Carmen Cano de Lasala and translator Nguyễn Thị Kim Dung read one of the poems at the book launch.

Con Vietnam comprises more than 40 poems composed in the 1960s when the anti-war movement spread globally. The collection was compiled by female poet Angelina Gatell, with the participation of popular poets including Angel Gonzalez, Blas de Otero, Jose Agustin Goytisolo, and Rafael Alberti. 

The works were of many ages, came from regions, had different political tendencies and writing styles. Most of the poems had never been published, but all of them were united in opposing the war and supporting the Vietnamese people in their struggle for independence and peace.

The collection was censored and banned from publication by the Franco dictatorship due to its anti-war content but the manuscript was later recovered in the censorship agency's archives thanks to Julio Neira Jimenez, professor of Spanish Literature and Literary Theory at UNED University. It was officially published by the Visor Libros publishing house in 2016. 

The original book was illustrated by artist Julio Alvarez but in the Vietnamese version, illustrations are made by six Spanish artists and six Vietnamese artists. This creates an artistic dialogue through time and space that expresses the deep resonance between poetry and painting in conveying the message of peace, anti-war and solidarity between humanity.

The Kim Đồng Publishing House worked with the Spanish Embassy to Hà Nội to publish the collection, with financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Culture.

Spanish poems were translated by Nguyễn Thị Kim Dung, a lecturer of the Spanish Department at Hà Nội University.

"After reading the poems in Spanish, I was so moved," Dung said. "I don't have personal experience of war, but through the versions I feel both pride and painfully sad."

The Vietnamese version Cùng Việt Nam is a special tribute to the respected professor, writer, poet and essayist Julio Neira Jiménez, who passed away in 2022.  VNS