Secret of Hoa Sen

NGUYEN PHAN QUE MAI: Born in a small North Vietnamese village in 1973, Nguyen Phan Que Mai is the author of three poetry collections and translator of six. Her literary awards include the Poetry of the Year Award from the Hanoi Writers Association; First Prize in the Poetry about Hanoi competition from Vietnam's Literature Newspaper and Hanoi Radio & Television; the Capital's Literature & Arts Award from the Hanoi Union of Literature & Arts Associations, among others. Her poems have been featured at major international poetry festivals including the First Asia-Pacific Poetry Festival; the Qinghai International Poetry Festival; and the International Poetry Festival of Medellin, Colombia. Que Mai is the Honorary Fellow of Writing at Hong Kong Baptist University. BRUCE WEIGL: Bruce Weigl's most recent poetry collection The Abundance of Nothing was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 2013. The author of thirteen poetry collections, and the best-selling memoir The Circle of Hanh, Weigl is past President of the Associated Writing Programs, and has been Chairperson of the Judging panel in Poetry for the National Book Award. He has received such literary awards as the Poet's Prize from the Academy of American Poets; the Lannan Literary Award; the Robert Creeley Award; and a Medal for Significant Contributions from the Vietnam Union of Literature & Arts Associations and the Vietnam Writers Association. Weigl is currently a professor of poetry at Lorain County Community College in Elyria, Ohio.

"The Secret of Hoa Sen, translated by the author and Bruce Weigl, takes us along the streets of Vietnam where we meet women bearing 'stars in the shape of carrying poles' and women who are the collectors of garbage who 'mend their lives whole from debris.' Que Mai takes us deep into the earth with 'earthworms who know how to sing the eternal song of emerald grass.' She brings forth the music in each rice plant blossoming in the lullaby of her grandma who died during the Great Famine. Through the suffering of war and greed and the celebration of life, these poems originate in the depths of mud and rise, like the lotus flower whose petals magically take flight, bringing us its truth and freedom." --Teresa Mei Chuc, author of Red Thread: Poems "Que Mai, a translator, poet, and winner of the Poetry of the Year Award from the Hanoi Writers Association, collaborated with poet and translator Weigl for this collection focused on the lingering physical and psychological effects of the Vietnam War. These straightforward, personal poems lament and celebrate with the landscape--the smells, colors, and people of her country--that is their touchstone ... But Nguyen also sings for the alienated orphans of the Vietnam War; for garment workers in Bangladesh; for the victims of Typhoon Bopha in the Philippines; and for mothers across the globe in perilous circumstances ... Mai writes with a nostalgic yet detail-oriented eye." --Publishers Weekly "Nguyen Phan Que Mai's poetry collection is firmly rooted in the Vietnamese tradition, though her poems--or, rather, full-blown songs--also travel to Bhutan, Bangladesh, and other locales. The Secret of Hoa Sen is a collection about the earth-born: family, feeding, sustenance, and how these are intimately connected to the earth. This is what makes the poems stand out from the recent trend in writing about the urban familial settings, but this is not to say that the poems are limited to pastoral settings. Nguyen's co-translator Bruce Weigl rightly describes the collection in the introduction as 'a global poetry, necessary for our troubled times.' ... Ms. Nguyen's voice is simple, but full of compassion, and there is both the quality of the earth and the wind in her poetry, an embracing lushness." --Asymptote "The author writes eloquently about family, femaleness and the sensual beauty of her country. When she writes of place, I feel that I am walking past the rice shoots in a long ago world." --Omaha World-Herald "While there are dark, gritty elements at play, Que Mai's work does not lose itself to despair. She crafts subtleties in sentiment without being overly sentimental." --Los Angeles Review of Books "Poetry is an effective and beautiful way to deal with the horrific aspects of war that have marked all of us. Those who have been avoiding Vietnam War poetry should try this book. You might find it surprisingly affecting." --David Willson, Vietnam Veterans of America "Like a lullaby, The Secret of Hoa Sen acknowledges our collective pain by looking at it head on. Nguyen does not sooth over old wounds, but she does break down the painfulness of the past by suggesting the journey back can offer a chance at redemption." -Pleiades

• Contents Introduction by Bruce Weigl 1. My Mother’s Rice 2. Eating Pho with My Grandpa 3. The Poem I Can’t Yet Name 4. The Gardener in the Royal Citadel 5. Stars in the Shape of Carrying Poles6. The Boat Girl 7. Spring Garden 8. Pearls of My Aunt 9. The Garment Workers of Bangladesh 10. The Secret of Hoa Sen 11. Two Truths 12. Earth Home 13. Ceramic Rhythm 14. The White Time 15. With a Vietnam Veteran 16. Separated Worlds 17. April 18. Thousand Years 19. The White Sky 20. The Desire of Clouds 21. Mekong Delta 22. Hà Noi 23. Your River 24. My Father 25. My Mother 26. Speaking With My Children 27. The Sea 28. My Father’s Home Village 29. Being Vietnamese 30. Touching the Hair of Sunrise 31. Journey of the Human Train 32. Quang Tri33. Van Anh34. The Singing Sea 35. The Green Sphere36. Steps of Time 37. Your Words 38. Night’s Whispers 39. Your Forest 40. Babylift 41. Grass 42. Vietnam Veterans Memorial 43. Through a Narrow Lane44. Song of Garbage45. Himalaya 46. Fish Sauce and Flowers 47. Blues for My Grandma 48. Crying for Mindanao49. Fears 50. From the Deep Earth 51. The Music of Fire 52. Freeing Myself