when poetry ignites | Lê Vĩnh Tài

Paris, France. Photography: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

A poem in Vietnamese by Lê Vĩnh Tài
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

when poetry ignites
don’t hesitate
like blood poetry bleeds
through the valves
a soft quivering sound
at a level
no one could ever hear…
.
May 2019

khi thơ bốc cháy…
đừng gầm gừ
thơ như máu chảy
qua các van tim
tạo nên một âm thanh run nhẹ
tới mức
không ai nghe…


Lê Vĩnh Tài, the poet and translator born in 1966 in Buon Ma Thuot, Daklak, Vietnam. The retired doctor is still a resident of the Western Highlands and a businessman in Buon Ma Thuot.

Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm, the blogger, poet, and translator, was born in 1971 in Phu Nhuan, Saigon, Vietnam. The pharmacist currently lives and works in Western Sydney, Australia.

Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm's avatar

By Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

There's magic in translating a body of work from one language to another.

13 comments

      1. I think it’s really interesting and fun to read but secretly I also think it’s a cheap cop-out that serves the reader nothing. I think it’s the difference between someone TELLING you HOW this medicine will heal you if you take it vs how the medicine ACTUALLY heals you after taking it.

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