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| Thu, May 17, 2012 |
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Asia Pacific Poetry Festival opens in Ha Long Updated:
11:06PM (GMT+7), Fri, February 3, 2012
Nhan Dan – The first Asia Pacific Poetry Festival opened in Ha Long city in the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh on February 2.
The opening ceremony was attended by Party Central Committee member, Secretary of the Quang Ninh provincial Party Committee Pham Minh Chinh; Chairman of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations, poet Huu Thinh; and Chairman of the Central Council for Theory and Criticism of Literature and Arts Hong Vinh. The event featured a flag raising ceremony and an incense offering to King – poet Le Thanh Tong as well as cultural activities such as drum performances and Cheo (popular opera) singing. Balloons bearing beautiful verses of poetry were released into the sky at the event. The festival brings together 40 Vietnamese poets and more than 70 poets from 27 additional countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region, including China, Japan, Republic of Korea, India, Laos, Singapore and the Philippines. While sharing feelings about the event, poet David Mc Kirdy from Hong Kong (China), former Director of the International Poetry Festival 2008, said that the opening ceremony was impressive and eventful. He hoped that he would be able to share his work with Vietnamese poetry lovers. “The opening ceremony has showed the Vietnamese people’s respect to poetry, which can be seen through the ceremonies carried out at the event,” said poet Mary Ann from the Philippines. The delegates also took part in a seminar on ‘Poetry for a Peaceful, Co-operative and Developed Asia-Pacific’ on the evening of February 2 and joined a tour to UNESCO World Natural Heritage site Ha Long Bay. Tomorrow they will travel to Hanoi and visit Bat Trang pottery village and attend an international poetry gala night. They will join the opening ceremony of Vietnamese Poetry Day at the Temple of Literature and enjoy a puppetry show at the Thang Long Water Puppetry Theatre on February 5. The event is jointly held by the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations, Vietnam Writers’ Association, and the Quang Ninh provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee.
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