Mother | Bùi Chát

Khai mạc 'Đang trôi'. Art by Bùi Chát. Photo by Trà Cù Lủ

poem by Bùi Chát
translation by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

Definitely not a river, a grain of rice,
Nation or memory at all

Nor anything truly terrible ever

Mother

That fucker

Has a husband and lots of children

A fact that will never change

Mẹ


Hẳn nhiên không phải dòng sông, hạt gạo,
Quê hương hay kí ức gì cả

Cũng chưa bao giờ là gì đó thực sự tệ hại

Mẹ

Là mẹ

Có chồng và thiệt nhiều con

Đấy là điều luôn được biết đến

(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.

A footnote on a journey | Bùi Chát

Khai mạc 'Đang trôi'. Art by Bùi Chát. Photo by Trà Cù Lủ

poem by Bùi Chát
translation by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

You left me in a rush as though
you’re retreating from a fight where I’m
completed bogged

Chú thích cho một cuộc đi


Em rời bỏ tôi
Vội vã như rút khỏi cuộc chiến
Tôi đã sa lầy

(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.

An Oxymoron | Bùi Chát

poem by Bùi Chát
translation by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

1.
I am a witness to many deaths
Sad. Pitiful
Horrifying, to the point where…

Death is something no one dare


2.
I am a witness to many deaths
Sad
Pitiful
Horrifying
to the point where…

Living is something no one dare

Nghịch lí


1.
Tôi đã chứng kiến nhiều cái chết
Buồn. Thê thảm
Kinh hoàng, đến nỗi…

Không còn ai dám chết


2.
Tôi đã chứng kiến nhiều cái chết
Buồn
Thê thảm
Kinh hoàng
đến mức…

Không còn ai dám sống

(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.

The poem – there’s two way to handle it | Bùi Chát

Khai mạc 'Đang trôi'. Photo by Trà Cù Lủ

poem by Bùi Chát
translation by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

1.
Fire


Silence
Might be golden
But as it confronts evil
Silence is golden only on the surface
That can easily contaminate

2.
But

As it confronts evil
Silence is golden only on the surface
That can easily contaminate

Bài thơ – hai cách xử


1.
Lửa

Im lặng
Có thể là vàng
Nhưng đối diện cái ác
Im lặng chỉ là vàng giả
Dễ gây ô nhiễm


2.
Nhưng

Đối diện cái ác
Im lặng chỉ là vàng giả
Dễ gây ô nhiễm

(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.

A conversation with a poet about poetry | Bùi Chát

Khai mạc 'Đang trôi'. Photo by Trà Cù Lủ

poem by Bùi Chát
translation by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

In the middle of the first line 
– when you first put pen to paper
And the full stop. Once you are rather satisfied
With
A period that
Went on and on
An emptiness that could
Imprison a person's life

From such a point poetry is born
To then
Disappear forever

Together with the dissolution of the poet

Nói với nhà thơ về thơ


Giữa dòng chữ đầu – lúc ngươi đặt bút
Và dấu chấm hết. Khi tạm hài lòng

Một khoảnh khắc
Kéo dài
Một
Khoảng trống rỗng chiếm đoạt đời người

Từ đó thơ sinh ra
Rồi
Mất hút

Cùng với sự mất biến của nhà thơ

(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.

Oneway | Bùi Chát

Fansipan Mountain Sapa is a dream destination for outdoor enthusiasts in Vietnam (Source: Collected)

poem by Bùi Chát
translation by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

A poem by a patriot
Next to a book of poem by another patriot

Completely still

They sit side by side

Turned silence into wordless silence

So they can stare at a paradise lost

Một hướng


Bài thơ của một người yêu nước mình[1]
Bên tập thơ của một người yêu nước khác

Họ cùng nhau

Ngồi yên

Chuyển lặng im thành im lặng

Để nhìn về thiên đường mất mát

[1] a poem by Trần Vàng Sao


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.

Ways to die | Bùi Chát

Hoạ sĩ Noah Bùi kí hôm khai mạc. Cảm ơn em Hoàn Bùi Vẫn còn "Đang trôi"... -- Sketch of Bùi Chát by Noah

poem by Bùi Chát
translation by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

Vietnamese people prefer to die standing
Of course. Better than to live one’s life on one’s knees
If I had a choice

I really don’t want to die standing [1]
I don’t want to drown either [2]
I don’t want to die like I’m in a movie [3]
Nor do I want to die in agony [4]
I don’t want my dying to go on and on forever [5]
nor do I want to die as though it’s just my next meal [6]
I don’t want to die flying [7]
nor do I want to die too quickly either [8]
I don’t want to just die and that will be that [the end.] [9]

Because after all, as a poet
You must know how to nurture the ability
To live and die in limbo

Assembling

[1] Even though my poetry is straightforward very firm and straight actually
[2] In the same boat with those half-asleep
[3] Someone will waste their time searching
[4] Ignore those starved for attention scavengers of emotions
[5] When will I come? I will never know for sure
[6] To die daily, satisfied by death fully
[7] To the rise and fall moans(of ecstasy)
[8] Probably not the right Feng Shui
[9] According to the dictionary, death means You’re Fucked

Cách chết


Người Việt thích chết đứng
Dĩ nhiên. Hơn sống quỳ
Một khi phải lựa chọn

Tôi thật không muốn chết đứng [1]
Tôi cũng không muốn chết chìm [2]
Tôi không muốn chết như phim [3]
Và không muốn chết bồi hồi [4]
Tôi không muốn chết dài dằng dặc [5]
Tôi không muốn chết như cơm bữa [6]
Tôi không muốn chết bay lên [7]
Tôi không muốn chết không kịp ngáp [8]
Và không muốn chết là hết [the end.] [9]

Bởi dẫu sao, là một nhà thơ
Bạn phải biết cách nuôi dưỡng khả năng
Sống và chết lơ lửng

Ráp nối

[1] Dù thơ tôi ngay và rất thẳng
[2] Cùng xuồng bọn mắt lim dim
[3] Ai đó uổng công đi tìm
[4] Mặc bầy cảm xúc ăn hôi
[5] Biết ngày nào về? Thì tôi chưa chắc
[6] Chết hàng ngày, chết ngon miệng
[7] Bay xuống bay lên như một tiếng rên
[8] Phong thủy có lẽ không hạp
[9] Theo từ điển chết là Đệt [Death]


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.

undeniable | Bùi Chát

Không thể chối từ 85x110cm Sơn dầu, Oilstick trên canvas 2023 artist: Bùi Chát

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.