Quang Ninh to host Vietnam Poetry Day 2026
VOV.VN - The 24th Vietnam Poetry Day will take place on March 3 in the northern province of Quang Ninh under the theme “Before the Vast Sea,” highlighting the country’s maritime identity and cultural resilience, heard a press conference on February 25.
According to President of the Vietnam Writers’ Association (VWA) Nguyen Quang Thieu, the annual event aims to continue bringing National Poetry Day to the public nationwide through a rotating format in different localities, depending on the theme of Poetry Day each year.
The 2026 edition will be hosted by Quang Ninh province which was also the first locality to organise the event on a provincial scale in 1988, commemorating the 520th anniversary of King Le Thanh Tong's poem inscribed on the cliff of Bai Tho Mountain. Vietnam Poetry Day later became a nationwide event in 2003 under the auspices of the Vietnam Writers' Association.
The centrepiece of this year’s programme will be the Nguyen Tieu Poetry Night on March 3 at the Quang Ninh Planning, Fair and Exhibition Palace. The evening will feature works about the sea by established and emerging poets, combining poetry readings with musical performances based on poetic texts.
Organisers said the format is designed to deepen audience engagement by allowing authors to share the creative context behind their works before presenting original readings and adapted compositions.
Beyond the main stage, poets will directly visit mines, schools, and military units to interact, read poetry, and contribute to bringing poetry closer to life and spreading cultural values in society.
A symposium on the poetry will be held on March 3, focusing on the role and responsibilities of writers in an era shaped by social media and artificial intelligence. The discussion aims to reaffirm the enduring value of authentic poetry amid rapid technological change.
An outdoor installation featuring 50 selected sea-themed verses displayed on stylised “poetic sails” will serve as a symbolic artistic highlight. On the occasion, the Writers’ Association Publishing House will release a poetry collection titled “Before the Vast Sea,” reflecting the theme of the 2026 edition.
Ninh Binh to host Vietnam Poetry Day 2025
The 23rd Vietnam Poetry Day will bring together poets born during the resistance wars against the US imperialists, after 1975, during the “Doi moi” (renewal) process until 2000, and after 2000.
