Vietnamese poet scales top ten list on Amazon

Cover of Mai Van Phan's English-Vietnamese collection Nhung Hat Giong Cua Dem va Ngay (Seeds of Nights and Day), which is among the top ten of the 100 best-selling poetry collections from Asia on Amazon

HA NOI (VNS) — Three bilingual poetry collections by Vietnamese poet Mai Van Phan are among the top-selling collections of their kind on amazon.com, the poet was informed by UK's Page Addie Press publisher.

The two collections in Vietnamese and English titled Ra Vuon Chua Xem Cat Co (Grass Cutting in a Temple Garden) and Nhung Hat Giong Cua Dem va Ngay (Seeds of Nights and Day) as well as his Vietnamese-French collection titled Bau Troi Khong Mai Che (A Ciel Ouvert/ Firmament without Roof Cover) are among the top ten of the 100 best-selling poetry collections from Asia on Amazon.

The result is based on selling reports updated every hour on amazon.com.

"I believe that our contemporary poetry enjoys an adequate position, while we integrate with the world," he said overjoyed, adding "Our Vietnamese distinction is alluring to the international audience of Vietnamese poetry, in particular, and literature, in general."

Phan was born in 1955 in the northern province of Ninh Binh. He has written 21 poetry collections in Vietnamese, ten of which have been republished many times and translated into many languages, including English, French and Albania.

Amazon introduces Phan as, "The Vietnamese language is emotional, expressive, precise, symbolic and metaphorical. His poems are rich with memories, experiences and strong emotions... Mai Van Phan unearths even deeper truth. His bilingual versions are translated from the poet's original writing, allowing the reader to see into Mai Van Phan's Vietnam... "

... "His words express the value of culture, spirit, traditions and customs of the Vietnamese people. Here the poet speaks up about the joy and immense sadness that his people have been through. His poems illuminate and reveal poverty, diseases, suffering and backwardness, while at the same time capturing the heart and soul and expressions of the Vietnamese people...," the site wrote. — VNS