Vietnamese Feminist Poems from Antiquity to the Present: A Bilingual Anthology

This is the only bilingual anthology of Vietnamese women’s poetry available anywhere. This unique collection offers over one hundred poems from over one hundred poets in the only bilingual anthology of Vietnamese women’s poetry available anywhere in the world. From the deeply personal to the dramatically political, The Defiant Muse gives a remarkable insight into the lives of women whose voices have long been consigned to history’s margins. As diverse as Vietnam itself, this anthology ranges from the earliest oral poetry and the first written Buddhist spirituals to the angry poems of rebellious youth in Vietnam today. Native Vietnamese speakers and scholars carefully compiled, translated, and edited the texts to maintain the delicate authenticity of each work. Far-reaching in scope, this volume includes groundbreaking new Vietnamese translations of several ancient poems, a number of works from such canonic Vietnamese poets as Ho Xuan Huong, Anh Tho, and Xuan Quynh, as well as poems from contemporary writers from the Diaspora. Whether it is the legendary uprising of the Trung sisters against Chinese rule or the quiet cultivation of silkworms, this volume captures a staggering wealth of women’s experiences. These extraordinary texts speak to exceptional moments in everyday realities of women in love and war, in the fields and cities, in their homeland and far abroad.