Organisers said this year the Vietnamese Poetry Day was held throughout the whole day instead of only a morning session as done in previous years. Early in the morning, the historic relic of Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam was packed with thousands of poetry lovers and even foreigners who wanted to explore Vietnam’s poetry writing art.

Nguyen Ngoc Oanh, former deputy governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, who often participates in the Vietnamese Poetry Day, said he is happy to come to the festival as he has the chance to meet veteran poets.

“The Vietnamese Poetry Day is a useful activity because it helps arouse the great passion for poetry writing among poets and poetry lovers,” said Mr Oanh.

He showed off his poem “The mother” which was selected in the collection of 100 best poems of the 20^th century.

This year’s poetry day was marked by poem recitals and the release of the best pieces of poetry into the sky, alongside a special art programme performed by artists from the Army’s Culture and Arts University. A get-together bringing poets from Hanoi and nearby localities was held with veteran poet Vu Quan Phuong acting as chairman. They looked at the achievements of Vietnamese poetry in the past year and exchanged views on new poetry writing trends. 

The Vietnam Writers’ Association presented certificates of merit to 10 music composers who transformed poems into unforgettable songs over the past decades. 

The festival’s organising board also presented certificates of merit and awards to artists who have been well-known for reciting skills. Radio the Voice of Vietnam’s Poem Recital Programme was also bestowed with a certificate of merit.

A collection of 100 best poems written on "giay do" (poonah paper) was auctioned for a record price of VND250.5 million. Organisers handed over the proceeds to the Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin.

The Vietnamese Poetry Day was also held in other localities across the country such as Son La province in the north, Thanh Hoa province in the centre, and Kien Giang and Ben Tre provinces and Ho Chi Minh City in the south.