SURROUNDED BETWEEN LOVE
Author: Blaga Dimitrova
Writers Association Publishing House, 2024
Number of pages: 229 (size 14x22cm)
Quantity: 300
Selling price: 150,000 VND
But it must be added: that sentiment belongs to a woman, a European person, so it adds more weight to the intellect. The poetic thinking and poetic sense of a great European poet helped her project a philosophical depth and a great range of thought into real landscapes. Her poems regarding Vietnam therefore bring a different and new perspective to the Vietnamese people regarding their people and nation from the generalizations and thoughts that she often places at the end of the poem, raising them to the level of awareness and thought. The poet transmits to the reader. Reading the poetry collection “Between Love” clearly shows this.
Blaga’s poetic thinking operation here is comparison and contrast. Coming to Vietnam, which was struggling in the midst of war, she thought she would only see dry, empty eyes. But no, she was met with a smile. That smile not only specifically during a meeting helped European women overcome the deadly fear of war. But through the poet’s smile he can clearly see “the pain, tenderness and strength of an invaded Vietnam“. And more than that: “Thanks to that smile/ I have overcome all dangers/ from one end of the world to the other“.
The resistance of the Vietnamese people through this poem by Blaga has the meaning of saving humanity. In the enemy’s air war, the sky is where death is sown and the ground is where injuries are caused by falling bombs and bullets. Yet in the eyes of the Bulgarian female poet the truth is the opposite: “I only see: the wounded / falling from the sky to the ground / And the wounded ground remains peaceful“. Blaga witnessed a mother recognize her child who had been killed by a bomb through the remaining sandal straps. The poet bowed his head on the sandal straps that had been shredded by shrapnel. And she realized that they were ropes. parasol on the gallows”for all of us/ are at fault even if we have not committed a crime“. That is not only an accusation of evil people. It is also a warning to humanity. Therefore, Blaga sees the scene of the sky being torn apart by the roar of airplanes, destroying human sleep, as an insult to God. because the enemy – they were “trample on the ends/ of the morning light“. That means the war has destroyed the light. Just the night before in Phu Ly town, the poet saw wartime life still going on, there was a wedding regarding to happen, but in the morning everything was gone. destroyed by bombs dropped by the enemy.
Blaga created a great contrast to push the war denunciation to the highest level: did the pilots drop bombs on this town because the plane’s radar picked up a visible signal?The waves of love rise high and full“. War has destroyed love. Therefore, those who fight once morest war are those who find light and save love of people, for people.
Collection of poems “Between Love” by Bulgarian poet Blaga Dimitrova (1922 – 2003) translated from the original by Ngo Thi Thuc and Nguyen Thi Thanh Hang. (Photo: ST)
The Vietnam War appeared like that in Blaga Dimitrova’s poetry. Surrounded by love is the name of a poem that she took as the title of the entire collection of poems. “Vietnamese people are surrounded by love” – the poet begins the poem with such a firm statement. Why is it “surrounded by love”? Because life is tense between the two banks of life and death. Because can life be taken away? know when. So Vietnamese people pour all their love for each other in every moment. Concluding the poem, the poet once once more affirms: “You are surrounded by love and have paid a very high price for happiness“. From here the poet discovered a paradox: the Vietnam War took away the life of everything, but gave birth to a love of life with sacrifice and boundless desire. It is true that Blaga Dimitrova has I love and understand the Vietnamese people very much during the war.
I was amazed by Blaga Dimitrova in the poem “Pregnant Woman”.
She walked proudly and solemnly,
pregnant with all the pain in the world
She walked alone amidst the noise
and listen to your inner voice,
where magic is fluttering
Where a fist in the narrow darkness wants to reach out to the light
She walked through the desolate ruins of death
How they screamed in her heart
Every crack in the ground causes her pain
She picked up the broken pieces
of the crumpled world
put it into your body and create a new world
She cautiously and attentively walked forward
Keep it inside like a fragile container
the laughter of a green future
and carry the globe in front. (tr. 58)
This poem was written by Blaga Dimitrova in 1967 in Vietnam, where she first came. Amidst the tragic ruins following a bombing in Hanoi, a pregnant woman appeared and walked. That image caught the poet’s eyes. She was shocked and emotional. What does the woman carrying life inside her think when she witnesses death unfolding before her eyes? Those four verses of life and death are developed by the poet in the direction that death must conquer life and the person who brings life following death is the pregnant woman. That great stature is said right in the second verse: she is pregnant with the sorrows of the whole world! A world that is falling apart, being destroyed. But she did not despair because she was carrying a life within her and because only she might hear within herself the beating sound of that life above all the horrifying sounds of death surrounding her. Therefore, the poet’s gait looks slow and dignified, even though she walks through ruined houses and scattered bodies. Not only was she regarding to give birth to a human being, she was also regarding to recreate an entire world that had been torn apart. A new, more complete world will be born from the mother’s womb. She heard inside herself a soft laugh of the future, so she was worried, but wisely, she walked steadily. From then on, the image of a pregnant woman becomes magnificent:
She brought the whole globe side before!
The poem’s ending line shines with a halo of light. A very specific and realistic image. Looking at the pregnant belly, everyone sees a round, tight mass like the earth. But to say it like that, and say it in poetry, only Blaga Dimitrova can do it. She has created a noble and great poetic image. That’s a Vietnamese woman. That is the woman of humanity in general. It is a woman who has the vocation to give birth to become the Mother of mankind! I would like to translate this verse into: The pregnant belly is a globe!
Blaga Dimitrova lived a life dedicated to literature, art and human life. She has written and published many books of poetry, novels, essays, memoirs and two research works on Bulgarian culture. Fluent in 5 foreign languages, she is a translator who has brought to her country’s readers great works of foreign literature. Blaga’s poetry collection “Between Love” has been reprinted many times in Bulgaria and translated into many languages. The translation of this collection of poems into Vietnamese from the poet’s original language allows Vietnamese readers to meet Blaga Dimitrova once more with feelings of respect and love. The two translators, Ngo Thi Thuc and Nguyen Thi Thanh Hang, studied and researched in Bulgaria and understood the language and culture of the land of roses. With their love for Blaga Dimitrova, they tried to get an accurate translation of the poem. . Accompanying the translation are the original poems. The book also contains pictures and drawings. The poetry collection “Between Love” translated from Bulgarian to Vietnamese is therefore a publication that is very reminiscent of the past and very meaningful in a world in the 21st century that still has bloody wars.
See you next time with other new books.
Hanoi, April 21, 2024
