Name Van Dai | ||
Ðào Thị Nguyệt Minh (January 29, 1903 – 1964), known by the pseudonym Vân Ðài, was a Vietnamese poet. Well known as one of Vietnam's primary female poets, Vân Ðài's work is also closely associated with the Resistance. In 1943 Vân Ðài published Hương Xuân, the first women's poetry collection in quốc ngữ, together with Hằng Phương, Mộng Tuyết, and Anh Thơ. Vân Ðài was selected by the editorial board of Feminist Publishing House of New York City University as one of the pioneer poets of the New Poetry style.
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Early life
Nữ Sĩ Vân Đài, Đào Thị Nguyệt Minh was born on January 29, 1904 (Giáp Thìn, Dragon year) in Hà Nội. The Đào family on Hàng Trống street were famous in the artistic community for their daughters' talents. In addition to Vân Ðài's poetry, her sisters Đào Lan Anh, Đào Thị Ngọc Thư, and Đào Phi Phụng, were known for their violin and zither skills.
At the age of ten, thanks to her mother's teaching and guidance on verse and poetry, she became famous in the poetry culture of Việt Nam, and came to be known as Vân Đài, poetess (nữ sĩ Vân Đài) of the pre-war period (thời tiền chiến).
Pre-war period, first marriage
Vân Đài began studies at Đồng Khánh Teacher Training School at the same time as well-known poet Tương Phố, but left the teaching profession to marry Huỳnh Kim Vinh, a veterinary surgeon who studied in Hà Nội. Together they moved to Trà Vinh, a southern province, and then settled in Sàigòn.
A few years later, Vân Đài's happiness and writing were interrupted by the sudden death of her husband. Back in Hà Nội, she devoted herself to writing poems and short stories for the many newspapers and magazines of Phụ Nữ Tân Văn, Phong Hóa, Ngày Nay, Tinh Hoa, Đàn Bà, and Tri Tân.
Second marriage, Hà Nội, from 1954
As a resistance partisan and participant during the long-lasting struggle against the colonial regime and hard evacuation campaign for Việt Bắc, Vân Đài volunteered as Head of the Dục Anh Association (Hội Dục Anh) where she helped to take care of hundreds of orphans.
She remarried Nguyễn Vǎn Tường, a telecommunications engineer.
In 1954 when Việt Nam was temporarily divided into two zones as a result of the Geneva Agreements, most of Vân Đài’s sisters and brothers left the ancient capital Thăng Long, Hà Nội for the South. Vân Đài could not follow them because her husband Tường and family would not go. To ease the pain of this parting, she taught literature at Hà Nội University. Her poetry was published in the newspapers of Phụ Nữ Việt Nam, Vǎn Học.
Death
At the end of the summer of 1964, Vân Đài died in a small house beside the West Lake (Hồ Tây), close to Quan Thánh Pagoda, Hà Nội. Only her friends and fellow poets, Anh Thơ, Hằng Phương, Thanh Phương, and Cẩm Thạch, attended her funeral.
In December 2012, The People's Council of Đà Nẵng City decided to name Vân Đài Street after the poet in a new residential area.
Published works
Vân Đài's most popular works were inspired by the mountainous areas where she traveled. She also published women’s household teaching books. Her last poem was Mùa Hái Quả (The Fruit - Picking Season), published by the Writer Association of Việt Nam in 1963.
Prewar period
Other stories
Collections
Poems published in Phụ nữ tân văn, Phong Hóa, Ngày nay, and Tinh hoa magazines
Tribute
Vǎn Học magazine No. 129 (June 1, 1971) in Sàigòn, was a special edition paying tribute to Vân Đài and featured her portrait on the cover. Main articles included: