poem inspired art by Bùi Chát
translation by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
it can kill
turn people into killers
turn people into liars
drown people in hate
it’s as attractive. as a disguise
the eyes used to incite evil
from quietude
undeniable
K h ô n g t h ể c h ố i t ừ
Nó có thể giết chết ngươi
Biến ngươi thành thủ phạm
Nó làm ngươi trở nên dối trá
Dìm ngươi trong hận thù
Nó hấp dẫn. Như mặt nạ
Ngươi mang vào để thực thi cái ác
Nó đến trong thinh lặng
Và ngươi không thể chối từ
(Chúng ta đang trôi đi đâu?! – Nxb Đà Nẵng 2025)
Bùi Chát is the poet, writer, publisher and artist’s pen name. Bùi Quang Viễn was born on October 22, 1979, at Hố Nai, Biên Hòa, Đồng Nai Province, Việt Nam. Born to family of patriotic Catholic refugees from the North in 1954.
Graduated in 2001 from the Faculty of Literature, Linguistics, and Journalism of Hồ Chí Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities. Bùi Chát named and cofounded Nhóm Mở Miệng (Open Mouth Group) with the poet and writer Lý Đợi, promoting Graveyard & Garbage Poetry.
Nhà Xuất bản Giấy Vụn (Scrap Paper Publishing House), also founded by Bùi Chát, distributions of xerographically structured sensitive works by “pavement poets”. In 2004, Bùi Chát and cofounder Lý Đợi were detained for two days for distributing flyers at a poetry reading raided by the authority. In 2005, the culture department blocked their performance at the Goethe Institute in Hà Nội.
In 2011, Bùi Chát was awarded the IPA Freedom to Publish Prize “for his exemplary courage in upholding the freedom to publish.” He was arrested on his return to Việt Nam after receiving the award in Buenos Aires and detained for several days.
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 