where I live now | Mai Thảo

A poem in Vietnamese by Mai Thảo
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

Everything you do is other people’s business
And even in death you’re not spared
Helps a sceptical and jaded soul like me see that
Nothing will ever change

nơi ta đang ở

Một góc gần nhau của những điều
Cuối cùng cõi chết cũng chôn theo
Giúp cho hồn lạnh tâm ngờ vực
Thấy được muôn đời chỉ bấy nhiêu


Mai Thảo [1927-1998] real name is Nguyen Dang Quy, another pen name: Nguyen Dang, he was born on June 8, 1927 in Con market, Quan Phuong Ha commune, Hai Hau district, Nam Dinh province (originally from Tho Khoi village, Gia Lam district, Bac Ninh province, the same hometown and related to the painter Le Thi Luu), his father was a merchant and wealthy landowner. Mai Thao absorbed his mother’s love of literature from Bac Ninh. As a child, he studied at a village school, went to Nam Dinh high school and then Hanoi (studied at Do Huu Vi school, later Chu Van An). In 1945, he followed the school to Hung Yen. When the war broke out in 1946, the family evacuated from Hanoi to Con market, in the “House of the Salt Water Region”, from then on Mai Thao left home to Thanh Hoa to join the resistance, wrote for newspapers, participated in art troupes traveling everywhere from Lien Khu Ba, Lien Khu Tu to the Viet Bac resistance zone. This period left a deep mark on his literature. In 1951, Mai Thao abandoned the resistance and went into the city to do business. In 1954, he migrated to the South. He wrote short stories for the newspapers Dan Chu, Lua Viet, and Nguoi Viet. He was the editor-in-chief of the newspapers Sang Tao (1956), Nghe Thuat (1965), and from 1974, he oversaw the Van newspaper. He participated in the literature and art programs of radio stations in Saigon from 1960 to 1975. On December 4, 1977, Mai Thao crossed the sea. After 7 days and nights at sea, the boat arrived at Pulau Besar, Malaysia. In early 1978, he was sponsored by his brother to go to the United States. Shortly after, he collaborated with Thanh Nam’s Dat Moi newspaper and several other overseas newspapers. In July 1982, he republished the Van magazine, and was editor-in-chief until 1996, when due to health problems, he handed it over to Nguyen Xuan Hoang; Two years later he died in Santa Ana, California on January 10, 1998.

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.

way above humanity | Mai Thảo

tHO mAI tHAO

A poem in Vietnamese by Mai Thảo
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

The plane flew over Lake Michigan
Eight thousand in the water
The plane flew over Long Island Estuary
Seven thousand on the ground
At the top of a skyscraper
A coffin as cold as ice flew
Four hundred people fast asleep

Vietnam is up alone
Lit up and all sparkly
Way above humanity

trên loài người cách biệt

Phi cơ bay qua Hồ Lớn Michigan
Tám ngàn trên mặt biển
Phi cơ bay qua mõm biển Long Island
Bảy ngàn trên mặt đất
Thượng tầng trời
Quan tài bay lạnh buốt như băng
Bốn trăm người ngủ hết

Việt Nam thức một mình
Một điểm thức lung linh
Trên loài người cách biệt


Mai Thảo [1927-1998] real name is Nguyen Dang Quy, another pen name: Nguyen Dang, he was born on June 8, 1927 in Con market, Quan Phuong Ha commune, Hai Hau district, Nam Dinh province (originally from Tho Khoi village, Gia Lam district, Bac Ninh province, the same hometown and related to the painter Le Thi Luu), his father was a merchant and wealthy landowner. Mai Thao absorbed his mother’s love of literature from Bac Ninh. As a child, he studied at a village school, went to Nam Dinh high school and then Hanoi (studied at Do Huu Vi school, later Chu Van An). In 1945, he followed the school to Hung Yen. When the war broke out in 1946, the family evacuated from Hanoi to Con market, in the “House of the Salt Water Region”, from then on Mai Thao left home to Thanh Hoa to join the resistance, wrote for newspapers, participated in art troupes traveling everywhere from Lien Khu Ba, Lien Khu Tu to the Viet Bac resistance zone. This period left a deep mark on his literature. In 1951, Mai Thao abandoned the resistance and went into the city to do business. In 1954, he migrated to the South. He wrote short stories for the newspapers Dan Chu, Lua Viet, and Nguoi Viet. He was the editor-in-chief of the newspapers Sang Tao (1956), Nghe Thuat (1965), and from 1974, he oversaw the Van newspaper. He participated in the literature and art programs of radio stations in Saigon from 1960 to 1975. On December 4, 1977, Mai Thao crossed the sea. After 7 days and nights at sea, the boat arrived at Pulau Besar, Malaysia. In early 1978, he was sponsored by his brother to go to the United States. Shortly after, he collaborated with Thanh Nam’s Dat Moi newspaper and several other overseas newspapers. In July 1982, he republished the Van magazine, and was editor-in-chief until 1996, when due to health problems, he handed it over to Nguyen Xuan Hoang; Two years later he died in Santa Ana, California on January 10, 1998.

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.

alone | Mai Thảo

Beer @Alexandria, Sydney, Australia. Photography by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

A poem in Vietnamese by Mai Thảo
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

In a corner of the bar
Human voice: what would you like to drink?
Drink? A sip of salty sadness in the dying light
And a full bottle of the night

một mình

Ngồi tượng hình riêng một góc quầy
Tiếng người: kia, uống cái chi đây?
Uống ư? một ngụm chiều rơi lệ
Và một bình đêm rót rất đầy


Mai Thảo [1927-1998] real name is Nguyen Dang Quy, another pen name: Nguyen Dang, he was born on June 8, 1927 in Con market, Quan Phuong Ha commune, Hai Hau district, Nam Dinh province (originally from Tho Khoi village, Gia Lam district, Bac Ninh province, the same hometown and related to the painter Le Thi Luu), his father was a merchant and wealthy landowner. Mai Thao absorbed his mother’s love of literature from Bac Ninh. As a child, he studied at a village school, went to Nam Dinh high school and then Hanoi (studied at Do Huu Vi school, later Chu Van An). In 1945, he followed the school to Hung Yen. When the war broke out in 1946, the family evacuated from Hanoi to Con market, in the “House of the Salt Water Region”, from then on Mai Thao left home to Thanh Hoa to join the resistance, wrote for newspapers, participated in art troupes traveling everywhere from Lien Khu Ba, Lien Khu Tu to the Viet Bac resistance zone. This period left a deep mark on his literature. In 1951, Mai Thao abandoned the resistance and went into the city to do business. In 1954, he migrated to the South. He wrote short stories for the newspapers Dan Chu, Lua Viet, and Nguoi Viet. He was the editor-in-chief of the newspapers Sang Tao (1956), Nghe Thuat (1965), and from 1974, he oversaw the Van newspaper. He participated in the literature and art programs of radio stations in Saigon from 1960 to 1975. On December 4, 1977, Mai Thao crossed the sea. After 7 days and nights at sea, the boat arrived at Pulau Besar, Malaysia. In early 1978, he was sponsored by his brother to go to the United States. Shortly after, he collaborated with Thanh Nam’s Dat Moi newspaper and several other overseas newspapers. In July 1982, he republished the Van magazine, and was editor-in-chief until 1996, when due to health problems, he handed it over to Nguyen Xuan Hoang; Two years later he died in Santa Ana, California on January 10, 1998.

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 past | Mai Thảo

A poem by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

A poem in Vietnamese by Mai Thảo
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

sometimes the ghost, they wake up
like a storm in one’s heart, so it can
sadly relay to the rest of the old ghosts
the coffin is already in the ground

quá khứ

Đôi lúc những hồn ma thức giấc
Làm gió mưa bão táp trong lòng
Ngậm ngùi bảo những hồn ma cũ
Huyệt đã chôn rồi lấp đã xong


Mai Thảo [1927-1998] real name is Nguyen Dang Quy, another pen name: Nguyen Dang, he was born on June 8, 1927 in Con market, Quan Phuong Ha commune, Hai Hau district, Nam Dinh province (originally from Tho Khoi village, Gia Lam district, Bac Ninh province, the same hometown and related to the painter Le Thi Luu), his father was a merchant and wealthy landowner. Mai Thao absorbed his mother’s love of literature from Bac Ninh. As a child, he studied at a village school, went to Nam Dinh high school and then Hanoi (studied at Do Huu Vi school, later Chu Van An). In 1945, he followed the school to Hung Yen. When the war broke out in 1946, the family evacuated from Hanoi to Con market, in the “House of the Salt Water Region”, from then on Mai Thao left home to Thanh Hoa to join the resistance, wrote for newspapers, participated in art troupes traveling everywhere from Lien Khu Ba, Lien Khu Tu to the Viet Bac resistance zone. This period left a deep mark on his literature. In 1951, Mai Thao abandoned the resistance and went into the city to do business. In 1954, he migrated to the South. He wrote short stories for the newspapers Dan Chu, Lua Viet, and Nguoi Viet. He was the editor-in-chief of the newspapers Sang Tao (1956), Nghe Thuat (1965), and from 1974, he oversaw the Van newspaper. He participated in the literature and art programs of radio stations in Saigon from 1960 to 1975. On December 4, 1977, Mai Thao crossed the sea. After 7 days and nights at sea, the boat arrived at Pulau Besar, Malaysia. In early 1978, he was sponsored by his brother to go to the United States. Shortly after, he collaborated with Thanh Nam’s Dat Moi newspaper and several other overseas newspapers. In July 1982, he republished the Van magazine, and was editor-in-chief until 1996, when due to health problems, he handed it over to Nguyen Xuan Hoang; Two years later he died in Santa Ana, California on January 10, 1998.

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.

on the bus | Mai Thảo

NYC, USA. photography by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

A poem in Vietnamese by Mai Thảo
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

nodding off to sleep on an endless bus ride
coming along for the ride is the rest of the world nodding off
waking up in time to get off
face the painful harden truth

trên bus

Đường xa hun hút ngủ gà gật
Nhân gian cũng gà gật theo đầu
Lúc cùng tỉnh thức cùng đi xuống
Lại hiện nguyên hình khối ngọc đau


Mai Thảo [1927-1998] real name is Nguyen Dang Quy, another pen name: Nguyen Dang, he was born on June 8, 1927 in Con market, Quan Phuong Ha commune, Hai Hau district, Nam Dinh province (originally from Tho Khoi village, Gia Lam district, Bac Ninh province, the same hometown and related to the painter Le Thi Luu), his father was a merchant and wealthy landowner. Mai Thao absorbed his mother’s love of literature from Bac Ninh. As a child, he studied at a village school, went to Nam Dinh high school and then Hanoi (studied at Do Huu Vi school, later Chu Van An). In 1945, he followed the school to Hung Yen. When the war broke out in 1946, the family evacuated from Hanoi to Con market, in the “House of the Salt Water Region”, from then on Mai Thao left home to Thanh Hoa to join the resistance, wrote for newspapers, participated in art troupes traveling everywhere from Lien Khu Ba, Lien Khu Tu to the Viet Bac resistance zone. This period left a deep mark on his literature. In 1951, Mai Thao abandoned the resistance and went into the city to do business. In 1954, he migrated to the South. He wrote short stories for the newspapers Dan Chu, Lua Viet, and Nguoi Viet. He was the editor-in-chief of the newspapers Sang Tao (1956), Nghe Thuat (1965), and from 1974, he oversaw the Van newspaper. He participated in the literature and art programs of radio stations in Saigon from 1960 to 1975. On December 4, 1977, Mai Thao crossed the sea. After 7 days and nights at sea, the boat arrived at Pulau Besar, Malaysia. In early 1978, he was sponsored by his brother to go to the United States. Shortly after, he collaborated with Thanh Nam’s Dat Moi newspaper and several other overseas newspapers. In July 1982, he republished the Van magazine, and was editor-in-chief until 1996, when due to health problems, he handed it over to Nguyen Xuan Hoang; Two years later he died in Santa Ana, California on January 10, 1998.

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 guy who writes for money | Mai Thảo

A poem in Vietnamese by Mai Thảo
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

a life half written, he will finish it
the thumb turning the page and the pinky
write the line about closing the eyes
of a soul about to leave its body

thằng viết mướn

Những trang đời viết còn dang dở
Sẽ có bàn tay ấy viết giùm
Ngón cái sang trang và ngón út
Viết dòng vuốt mắt phút lâm chung


Mai Thảo [1927-1998] real name is Nguyen Dang Quy, another pen name: Nguyen Dang, he was born on June 8, 1927 in Con market, Quan Phuong Ha commune, Hai Hau district, Nam Dinh province (originally from Tho Khoi village, Gia Lam district, Bac Ninh province, the same hometown and related to the painter Le Thi Luu), his father was a merchant and wealthy landowner. Mai Thao absorbed his mother’s love of literature from Bac Ninh. As a child, he studied at a village school, went to Nam Dinh high school and then Hanoi (studied at Do Huu Vi school, later Chu Van An). In 1945, he followed the school to Hung Yen. When the war broke out in 1946, the family evacuated from Hanoi to Con market, in the “House of the Salt Water Region”, from then on Mai Thao left home to Thanh Hoa to join the resistance, wrote for newspapers, participated in art troupes traveling everywhere from Lien Khu Ba, Lien Khu Tu to the Viet Bac resistance zone. This period left a deep mark on his literature. In 1951, Mai Thao abandoned the resistance and went into the city to do business. In 1954, he migrated to the South. He wrote short stories for the newspapers Dan Chu, Lua Viet, and Nguoi Viet. He was the editor-in-chief of the newspapers Sang Tao (1956), Nghe Thuat (1965), and from 1974, he oversaw the Van newspaper. He participated in the literature and art programs of radio stations in Saigon from 1960 to 1975. On December 4, 1977, Mai Thao crossed the sea. After 7 days and nights at sea, the boat arrived at Pulau Besar, Malaysia. In early 1978, he was sponsored by his brother to go to the United States. Shortly after, he collaborated with Thanh Nam’s Dat Moi newspaper and several other overseas newspapers. In July 1982, he republished the Van magazine, and was editor-in-chief until 1996, when due to health problems, he handed it over to Nguyen Xuan Hoang; Two years later he died in Santa Ana, California on January 10, 1998.

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 echo of time | Cư Sĩ Minh Đạt

The echo of time by Cư Sĩ Minh Đạt

thơ và tranh Cư Sĩ Minh Đạt
Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm dịch

drifts not does time
in a straight line
pliable round waves
rising

a calling
a departure from the origin
reaching the height of high
heaven

to then return
less than perfect compared to
the beginning
yet more graceful
embodying the colours of shapeless
adventures

the echo of time
asks no question
but infinitely sings
in a finite
hollow heart

tiếng vọng của thời gian

không trôi thẳng
thời gian
ngân lên từng vòng sóng mềm

một tiếng gọi
rời nguồn cội
chạm vào những tầng trời
xa xôi

rồi quay về
không vẹn nguyên như thuở đầu
mà dịu dàng
mang theo sắc màu những chuyến đi không hình bóng

tiếng vọng của thời gian
không hỏi ai
chỉ hát mãi
trong trái tim trống rỗng mà vô tận

“Đồng tử giãn ra mù dần như sự vô cảm của thời gian à anh? 

🙂

 ác nhỉ.” Trâm


 Cư Sĩ Minh Đạt is one of Hoàng Anh Dũng’s pseudonym. The poet and artist currently lives in Hồ Chí Minh City, Vietnam.

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 folds of time | Cư Sĩ Minh Đạt

the folds of time by Cư Sĩ Minh Đạt

thơ và tranh Cư Sĩ Minh Đạt
Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm dịch

Time does not only drifts
It folds

Like the light in one’s grasp
Slices of memory squashed

In the folds
The past touches upon the future
In a blink
A million autumn

Intangible roundabouts are the folds of time
The yearning in one’s heart
Where reason is nowhere
To be found

nếp gấp thời gian

thời gian không chỉ trôi
nó gấp lại

như bàn tay ôm lấy ánh sáng
như ký ức thầm lặng ép mình thành một lát mỏng

ở chỗ những góc gấp ấy
hôm qua chạm vào ngày mai
một cái chớp mắt
chứa cả triệu mùa thay lá

nếp gấp thời gian
không có hình thù
chỉ là những khúc quanh
mà trái tim ta nhớ
dẫu lý trí không còn tìm ra


 Cư Sĩ Minh Đạt is one of Hoàng Anh Dũng’s pseudonym. The poet and artist currently lives in Hồ Chí Minh City, Vietnam.

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.