A seminar titled “The Dignity of Poetry,” organized by the Vietnam Writers’ Association, drew a large number of poets, writers, and scholars on March 3 in the northern port city of Quang Ninh, as part of Vietnam Poetry Day.
More than a reflection on the nation’s poetic tradition, the discussion opened up urgent questions about creativity in an era shaped by rapid technological change, especially the growing presence of artificial intelligence.
Poet Nguyen Binh Phuong, Vice President of the Vietnam Writers’ Association and Editor-in-Chief of Military Literature Magazine, delivers the opening remarks at the seminar.
In his opening remarks, writer Nguyen Binh Phuong, Editor-in-Chief of the Military Literature Magazine, recalled periods in Vietnamese literary history when poetry set aside individual ego to merge with the destiny of the nation.
He described this not as a loss of identity, but as an ethical choice rooted in responsibility. Yet he cautioned that such a spirit of sacrifice must not become creative complacency. As AI increasingly enters the realm once considered uniquely human, poets must decide how to respond, neither rejecting technology outright nor relying on it uncritically.
Poet Huu Thinh speaks at the event.
Many participants also raised concerns about professional integrity, particularly plagiarism and online hostility. Poetry, Phuong noted, is like building a house: it stands firm only when each brick is laid by the writer’s own hand.
Poets Huu Thinh, Nguyen Khoa Diem, Dang Huy Giang, and Nguyen Tien Thanh shared reflections on poetry’s human core.
Poet Nguyen Khoa Diem speaks at the seminar.
They emphasized honesty, cultural depth, and inner authenticity over trends or popularity. In a noisy digital world, poetry may choose quiet persistence.
Its dignity, they agreed, lies in its ability to preserve emotional truth and cultural conscience amid constant change.
Translated by DO HUONG
VNQD