Mountain River

Vietnamese Poetry from the Wars, 1948-93

By: Bruce Weigl (Editor), Nguyen Ba Chung (Editor), Kevin Bowen (Editor)

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Paperback | 18 September 1998

At a Glance

Paperback
304 Pages

Age
22+

Dimensions(cm)
23.5 x 14.61 x 2.54

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This powerful and moving bilingual collection affirms the importance of poetry in the formation and perpetuation of Vietnamese national Identity. These poems testify to the centrality of war in Vietnamese history and experience over the past fifty years. Beginning thw Ho Chi Minh in the 1940s and moving forward in time to Nguyen Quang Thieu in the 1990s, the book presents significant poetry reflecting the thoughts and feeling of the major Vietnamese writers who lived through many years of war, first with the French and later with the Americans. Mountain River will serve as a valuable introductory survey of Vietnamese poetry written since World War II and as an example of the integral role of poets and poetry in Vietnamese culture.

Industry Reviews

Translation of poetry from Vietnamese to English presents difficult problems; these translations are among the best I've ever seen. The book will appeal to scholars and teachers in the fields of Viet Nam War studies, postcolonial literary studies, and Pacific Rim studies. It could easily be used as a course text, as well as provide important material for scholars. ... A most useful and beautiful work. - Renny Christopher, author of The Viet Nam War/The American War: Images and Representations in Euro-American and Vietnamese Exile Narratives - ""The quality of the translations is excellent."" - Ngo Nhu Binh, Harvard University.

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Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Field of Vision in Vietnamese Poetry
A Note on the Text and Translations
Full Moon in January	p. 3
Western Advance	p. 5
The Sim Flower Lavender	p. 9
Beautiful and Loving Days Gone By	p. 13
Remembering	p. 15
Missing the Eastern Region	p. 17
Uncle Doesn't Sleep Tonight	p. 19
Afternoon Rain on Route	p. 23
Pham Hong Thai	p. 27
The Couple of the Mountains	p. 29
Bright Starry Night	p. 35
Native Village	p. 37
Return to Tuyen	p. 41
When Will You Return?	p. 43
Condolence to a Friend	p. 47
Bombing at Seng Phen	p. 49
The Red Farewell	p. 51
I Returned to My Native Village	p. 55
The Lamp Standing Guard	p. 59
Emily, My Daughter	p. 61
The Division	p. 67
Drum and Fire	p. 71
Wave	p. 73
A Garden in the City	p. 77
Three Bullets	p. 81
Song of the Hammock	p. 83
The Fire in the Lamps	p. 87
Under Moonlight the Baby Sings	p. 95
The Rifleman's Words	p. 97
Deo Ngang: Crossing Pass	p. 103
Footprints in Elephant Grass	p. 105
The Grave and the Sandalwood Tree	p. 107
A Sky in a Bomb Crater	p. 111
O Life I Love Like My Wife	p. 113
Secret Scent	p. 117
The Alabaster Stork	p. 119
Mountain, River	p. 121
Lullaby for the Minority Children Growing Up on Their Mothers' Backs	p. 123
Song of the Moonlight and the Dan Bo	p. 127
Hearing the Argument of the Small Prisoners	p. 131
Stop	p. 133
White Circle	p. 137
Quang Tri	p. 139
Red Earth - Blue Water	p. 141
The Father	p. 143
Waiting	p. 145
On Hearing a Chameleon in the City	p. 149
The Incense Smell on New Year's Eve	p. 153
Worried Over the Days Past	p. 155
Moonlight	p. 157
In Phan Thiet	p. 159
Where the River Flowed	p. 163
The Repose	p. 165
The Space between Words	p. 169
Sonnet for the Bus	p. 171
A Retired General	p. 173
Leaving off Poetry	p. 175
Poem for My Grandson	p. 177
Woman Knitting	p. 179
The Bells	p. 181
After Many Missed Dates, You Finally Come	p. 183
Speaking to the Heart	p. 185
Come before the Rain Falls	p. 187
A Small Song of Peace	p. 189
Not Just a Battlefront	p. 195
Folk Festival in the Autumn Night	p. 197
Suddenly	p. 199
In the Metro	p. 201
Oh Stone	p. 203
Lang Son, 1989	p. 205
The Co May Flower	p. 207
Wind and Widow	p. 209
New Year's Eve	p. 211
Poem of a Garden	p. 213
A Half	p. 217
In the Labor Market at Giang Vo	p. 219
At 59 Ba Trieu Street	p. 221
To Return to the Urges Unconscious of Their Beginning	p. 223
The Examples	p. 225
Selected Bibliography	p. 227
Notes on the Poets	p. 231
Index of Authors and Poems	p. 263
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

Mountain River

Vietnamese Poetry from the Wars, 1948-93

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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