Full Description
The North American debut of Tuệ Sỹ—poet, monk, scholar, dissident, and one of the great cultural figures of modern Vietnam—and a new bilingual edition to the Seedbank series.
In addition to being a preeminent scholar of world philosophy and a Zen master, Tuệ Sỹ is one of Vietnam's most celebrated poets. He is a survivor of sixteen years of imprisonment and an eloquent witness to the tumult, tragedy, and resilience of his country over the last sixty years—and a full-length translation of his work into English is long overdue.
Assembled and co-translated by Vietnamese poet and essayist Nguyen Ba Chung and acclaimed American poet Martha Collins, Dreaming the Mountain reflects a lifetime of creation, crisis, and commitment. With poems presented on facing pages in Vietnamese and English, this volume includes the early imagism of Tuệ Sỹ's Zen studies as a scholar and critic, midlife work that represents his attempted retreat from the devastation of war and subsequent years of imprisonment, and late, elliptical poems that give intensely lyrical expression to a lifetime of profound experience. From the "fleeting dream of red blood at dusk" to the quiet determination of one who sets out to "repaint the dawn," these poems reflect the journey of an artist who speaks for his country, who captures its darkness and its light.
At once personal and universal, coolly observant and deeply compassionate, the poems of Tuệ Sỹ bring singular attention to a fleeting, painfully beautiful world.
Contents
Introduction xi
On the Translations xix
Khung Trời Cũ 2
A Piece of Old Sky 3
Cánh Chim Trời 4
Bird Wing Sky 5
Hương Ngày Cũ 6
Scent of Past Days 7
Mưa Cao Nguyên 8
Rainy Season in the Highlands 9
Tóc Huyền 10
Black Hair 11
HoàiNiệm 12
ARecollection 13
Hận Thu Cao 14
NobleAutumnRancor 15
Mộng Trường Sinh 16
Dream of a Long Life 17
Kết Từ 18
Last Words 19
Những Năm Anh Đi 22
The Years Away 23
Một Bóng Trăng Gầy 24
ASlenderMoon 25
Phố Trưa 26
Street at Noon 27
Tự Tình 28
Reflection 29
Chân Đồi 30
Nightmares in the Forest 35
Một Thoáng Chiêm Bao 36
Fleeting Dream 37
Những Bước Đường Cùng 38
End of the Road 39
Bóng Cha Già 40
My Father's Shadow 41
Ước Hẹn 42
Promise 43
Cây Khô 44
Dried Tree 45
Những Phím Dương Cầm 46
Piano Keys 47
Bên Bếp Lạnh 48
By a Cold Fire 49
Tống Biệt Hành 50
Leave-Taking 51
