The 16th Vietnam Poetry Day officially opened at Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature) in Hanoi on March 2.

The 16th Vietnam Poetry Day officially open​s at Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature) in Hanoi on March 2. 

Chairman of the Vietnam Writers’ Association Huu Thinh said this year’s poetry day coincides with the 70th anniversary of the birth of famous poem “Nguyen Tieu” (the 15th day of the first lunar month) written by late President Ho Chi Minh.

The organising board of the event is working to turn the Poetry Day into a festival for literature in general, he said.

Since its debut on Nguyen Tieu (the 15th day of the first lunar month) in 2003, the Vietnam Poetry Day, the biggest poetry festival in the country, has become a national tradition, often taking place in the spring. 

Starting out as an initiative of the Vietnam Writers' Association, the Poetry Day has been organised in many provinces and cities to honour poetry, which has been an integral part of Vietnamese culture for thousands of years.

This year’s event, themed “Literature accompanying the nation”, started on February 27 with a workshop featuring Vietnam’s current poetic issues and then a discussion on fiction reform on February 28.

1,500 more invitations were delivered to members of poetry clubs while four members from Japan’s poets association have been invited to exchange with Vietnamese poetry lovers on the occasion. 

A photo exhibition on Vietnamese writers who participated in the Tet Offensive in 1968 Spring will be held on the margin of the event.

‘Sail of poems’ has been selected as a symbol of this year’s event.-VNA