HÀ NỘI – The Vietnam Writers’ Association and family members of late poet Ngân Giang recently celebrated the anniversary of her 100^th birthday.

Attending the event, many renowned Vietnamese writers and poets agreed that poet Ngân Giang was a unique phenomenon in Việt Nam’s poetry scene. She started writing poems at a young age and had her first work published in a newspaper at the age of nine. Her first collection of poems, Giọt Lệ Xuân (Spring Teardrop), was released when she was 16.

According to literary scholar Nguyễn Thị Bích Hồng, Giang was both a beautiful and talented Hanoian woman, but her life had many ups and downs. She also added that her poem collection Tiếng Vọng Sông Ngân (The Echo of the Galaxy) was a remarkable milestone in her career, making her one of the most popular contemporary poets.

“Giang led a special and wonderful life, always preserving the national spirit through any condition and difficulty,” said writer Phùng Văn Khai. “Her writing and revolutionary career set an example for writers and poets when the country was at risk of invasion. The heart of the poet was indescribable in words. However, it could be partially comprehended through her works.”

Ngân Giang was born as Đỗ Thị Quế on March 20, 1916, into a Confucian family on Hàng Trống Street, Hà Nội. She was honoured as the Queen of Việt Nam’s Tang poetry in the 20^th century. In her 80-year writing career, she composed 4,000 poems, in addition to nine collections of poems, which have significantly contributed to the country’s poetry. She was honoured with a poem by late President Hồ Chí Minh in 1946.

Poet Ngân Giang died in 2002 at the age of 86. -- VNS