The launch of Harbor of Poetry (Ben Thi ca), a 1,216-page anthology by artist and poet Thien Zen (or Paul Van Thuyet,) drew wide interest from literary figures, researchers, and readers at the National Book Center on 24 Quang Trung Street, Hanoi, on June 7.
The launch event for Harbor of Poetry takes place at the National Book Center.
Paul Van Thuyet is a painter, sculptor, and former lecturer at the Faculty of Graphic Design at the Hanoi Open University. His latest collection, Harbor of Poetry, follows previous works Feast of Earthly Delights (Tiec tran gian) and Spontaneous Reflections (Ngau hung suy tu).
Author Thien Zen - Paul Van Thuyet (right, on stage) at the launch event for Harbor of Poetry.
Published by the Dong Nai Publishing House, the anthology includes four essays, two short stories, and 1,386 poems. Across more than 1,200 pages, the collection consistently explores an aesthetic philosophy: that beauty reveals itself in all things, even in the ordinary. This beauty, while rooted in the everyday, aspires toward a deeper, intellectual resonance.
Harbor of Poetry by Thien Zen.
Born in Hanoi in 1954 to a family with a strong artistic tradition, Thien Zen once studied at the Hanoi National University of Education and performed as a violinist with the Ha Tay music and dance troupe.
Over the decades, he has participated in numerous group exhibitions and held six solo shows, marking a career deeply embedded in both visual and literary arts.
Translated by DO HUONG
VNQD