Vân Đài

Vân Ðài (Hà Nội, 29 January 1903 – 1964) real name Ðào thị Nguyệt Minh is a Vietnamese woman poet.

In 1943 she published Hương Xuân, the first poetry collection by women poets in quốc ngữ, together with Hằng Phương, Mộng Tuyết and Anh Thơ.^[1][2]

Introduction

Nữ Sĩ Vân Đài, Đào Thị Nguyệt Minh was born on January 29, 1904 (Giáp Thìn, Dragon year) in Hà Nội. She comes from Đào's family on Hàng Trống street, which was famous in the artistic field as her sisters Đào Lan Anh, Đào Thị Ngọc Thư and Đào Phi Phụng were known for their violin and zither skills.^[3]

From ten years old, thanks to her mother's teaching and guiding on verses and poetry, therefore, she could acquire a quite famed place among the poetry world of Việt Nam and her pseudonym was known as Vân Đài, poetess (nữ sĩ Vân Đài) of the prewar period (thời tiền chiến).

Prewar period, First marriage

She starts to study in Đồng Khánh Teacher Training School at the same time of a well-known poetess Tương Phố, but she left the teaching profession earlier for her first marriage with Huỳnh Kim Vinh, veterinary surgeon who studied medecine in Hà Nội. They moved to Trà Vinh,^[4] a southern province and then stayed in Sàigòn.

Few years later, her happiness and creation of romantic poems were interrupted by the sudden death of his husband. Back to Hà Nội, she devoted herself to writing poems and short stories for many newspapers and magazines of Phụ Nữ Tân Văn, Phong Hóa, Ngày Nay, Tinh Hoa, Đàn Bà and Tri Tân.

Besides poems, she participated not only in social activities for taking care of hundreds of orphans of Dục Anh Association (Hội Dục Anh) of which she has been the Head but also in the struggle against the colonial regime.^[5]

Second marriage, Hà Nội from 1954

As a resistance partisan, during the long-lasting struggle and hard evacuation campaign for Việt Bắc, a mountainous resistance base (1945-1946), she volunteered to take care of her orphans and for having a supporting companion, she remarried with Nguyễn Vǎn Tường, telecommunication engineer.

In 1954, Việt Nam was temporarily divided into two parts, most of Vân Đài’s sisters and brothers left the ancient capital Thăng Long – Hà Nội for the South, but she could not follow them because his husband Tường and family would not. For forgotten this sorrow, she taught literature in Hà Nội University and some of her poetry were published in newspapers of Phụ Nữ Việt Nam, Vǎn Học.

Her most successful works are creations in the mountainous areas where she travelled. Besides, there are teaching books for women’s household. Her last poem was Mùa Hái Quả (The Fruit - Picking Season) published by the Writer Association of Việt Nam in 1963.

Published works are:

- Thanh Lịch (Elegance, teaching book)

- Làm bếp giỏi (Be Good Cook, teaching book)

- Hương Xuân (Spring Scent,selected poems, collaborated with Hằng Phương,Anh Thơ and Mộng Tuyết, Nguyễn Du Publisher in 1943)

- Làm Bánh (Pastries, teaching book, collaborated with Nguyễn Xiễn, Phụ Nữ Publisher in 1958)

At the end of summer 1964, Vân Đài deceased in small house beside the West Lake, close to Quan Thánh Pagoda, Hà Nội and only her friends and poetess as Anh Thơ, Hằng Phương, Thanh Phương, Cẩm Thạch were at her funeral.

Homage to Vân Đài

Vǎn Học magazine No.129 on June 1, 1971 in Sàigòn, is a special edition to pay tribute to Vân Đài with her portrait on the cover page, which includes various main articles:

- Vân Đài Thân Thế và Văn Nghiệp (Vân Đài's Biography and Works) by Phan Thục Uyên, writer, Sàigòn 1971

- Vân Đài, Bạn tôi (Vân Đài, my Friend) by Thượng Sỹ, writer, Winter 1966

- Nhớ Chị Vân Đài (Remembering Sister Vân Đài) by Anh Thơ, poetess, West Lake, Spring 1968

- Vài Kỹ niệm về Vân Đài (Some Souvenirs on Vân Đài) by Bàng Bá Lân, writer and poet, October 1963

Her most outstanding short stories of the prewar period were Thằng Khạ Mú (highland-dweller Khạ Mú), Tôi sang Lào (I travel in Laos), Bốn nǎm trên Đảo Cát Bà (Four years living in Cát Bà Island), Cô gái Phou-Thai (Phou-Thai Girl)....^[6]

- Thằng Khạ Mú (Short story of highland-dweller Kha Mu in the weekly magazine Women) by Vân Đài

- Cô gái Phou-Thai (Short story of Phou-Thai Girl, 1941) by Vân Đài

- Extracts from Vân Đài's Selected Poems which were mostly the prewar ones 1930 - 1940 published by Phụ Nữ Tân Văn, Sprint edition 1933

From 2012, Vân Đài was considered as one the famous women in the History of Việt Nam.^[7] She was selected by the editorial board of Feminist Publishing House of New York City University as one of the pioneer poetess of the new poetry style.^[8]

In December 2012, The People's Council of Đà Nẵng City decided to give Vân Đài's name to a street, Vân Đài street in a new inhabitant centre.^[9]

Collections

• Về quê Mẹ (Return to the Maternal Village) 1961
• Những người mẹ năm tốt (Five - Deeds Mothers) 1962
• Mùa hái quả (The Fruit-Picking Season) 1964

Others on Phụ nữ tân văn, Phong Hóa, Ngày nay and Tinh hoa magazines.^[10]

• Đêm tàn (The End of Night)
• Cảm hai giọt lệ (Between Tears) Tri Tân No.135, 23/3/1944
• Chú hải quân (Navy Soldier)
• Chiều quê (Countryside Evening) Tri Tân No.139, 20/4/1944
• Chiều thu (Autumn Evening)
• Lên đường (Departure)
• Ngẫu đề (By Sudden Creation) Tri Tân No.138, 23/3/1944
• Qua cảnh cũ (Back to ancient land)
• Tả cảnh (Landscape Description)
• Từ khúc (Farewell Verse)
• Thuyền đi (leaving Boat)
• Tiếng đêm (Night Sound)
• Họa 10 bài Khuê phụ thán của Thượng Tân Thị (Replying to 10 poems of Sole Woman's Wishes Poems of Thượng Tân Thị)

References