Hanoi names streets after two famous poets

Two tree-lined streets in the metropolitan area west of Hanoi will be named after two great contemporary late poets of the nation.

Two more poetic streets

The Trung Yen 3 Street in Trung Hoa Ward, Cau Giay District will be renamed as Luu Quang Vu Street. Photo: laodong.vn

Hanoi has just held a consultation with experts on naming and adjusting the length of some streets in the capital. Accordingly, the city will name another 38 roads and adjust the length for nine thoroughfares and streets within the locality.

According to Hanoi’s proposal, the future Xuan Quynh Street in Cau Giay District will be 470 meters long and 10 meters wide. Meanwhile, the nearby future Luu Quang Vu Street is 430 meters long and from 17.5 meters to 26 meters wide. The temporary names of these two lush green streets are Trung Yen 11 and Trung Yen 3, respectively which are located in Trung Hoa Ward, Cau Giay District, Hanoi.

Head of the Cultural Heritage Management Department, Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports Pham Thi Lan Anh said that the proposal on street renaming has already been submitted to the Hanoi People’s Council.

“Once the proposal is approved at the Hanoi People’s Council meeting in December, these two street names will be officially registered on the map of Hanoi city,” she said.

Greet careers

The couple of poets Xuan Quynh (1942-1988) and Luu Quang Vu (1948-1988) are considered as two most influential authors on the modern Vietnamese poetry landscape.  More than thirty years after they passed away, their works are still loved by readers of all ages.

Renowned late Vietnamese poets and married couple of Xuan Quynh and Luu Quang Vu. File photo

According to Thu Ha, a teacher of a high school in Hanoi, Luu Quang Vu - Xuan Quynh’s poetry is considered “the voice of the times” with ageless vitality, “Because when it is read out loud, readers of any generation can have their own interpretation and sympathy with the author,” she told The Hanoi Times.

Luu Quang Vu was born in 1948 in Phu Tho province where he spent most of his childhood. Vu’s father, Luu Quang Thuan, was also a famous playwright. In 1954, the family moved to Hanoi where he eventually settled down for the rest of his career and life.

As a talented poet, writer, and playwright, Luu Quang Vu's name is associated with many valuable theatrical works such as Nhan danh cong ly (In the Name of Justice), Toi va Chung ta (Me and Us), Mai mai tuoi 17 (Forever Seventeen), and Nang Sita (Lady Sita).

According to local art critics, the subliminal meanings in Luu Quang Vu’s poetry and philosophy of life show not only the values of Vietnam but of the world.

“Luu Quang Vu’s spoken plays encourage readers to commit themselves to expose the bad and fight for the good, as well as express the love for their motherland, and above all, the optimism and joy of living beyond all tragedies,” Hanoi based researcher - literary critic La Nguyen told The Hanoi Times.

Xuan Quynh was one of the Vietnamese outstanding female poets of 20th-century literature. File photo

However, his poetic works are rarely translated into foreign languages, perhaps because fully conveying those values requires a long and laborious process.

Xuan Quynh was born in 1942 in Van Khe commune, Ha Dong district, Hanoi. She is one of the Vietnamese outstanding female poets of 20th-century literature. The poet was famous for her poetic works such as Thuyen va bien (A Boat And The Ocean), Song (The Waves), Tho tinh cuoi mua thu (A Love Poem At Autumn's End), among others.

Some of her works have been turned into song lyrics, and one of her outstanding poems- The Waves became so influential that it has been taught in Vietnamese high schools from 1967 until nowadays.  Xuan Quynh was also posthumously awarded the Ho Chi Minh Prize for her achievements in literature in 2017.

The two poets got married in 1973. On August 29, 1988, the couple and their child Luu Quynh Tho (12) died in a car accident.

Previously, Luu Quang Vu also lends his name to a street in Ngu Hanh Son District, Danang city while his wife’s namesake – Xuan Quynh lies in District 9 of Ho Chi Minh City.