The 8th Vietnam Poetry Day opened atVan Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam ( Temple of Literature ) on February 28, thefifteen day of the first lunar month.
Secretary ofthe Hanoi Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi and poet Huu Thinh, Chairmanof the Vietnam Writers’ Association, the organiser of the festival,lighted the sacred flame to kick off the festival.
The flame was taken from Phu Tho province’s Thuong Temple , which isdedicated to the Hung Kings - the founders of Vietnam . It represents arespect for the traditional values in the creation of modern literaryworks.
This year’s Poetry Day is a “grand festival” held nationwide to markthe 1,000 th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi and expected to attractthe largest number of participants so far.
On February 27, a ceremony to commemorate writers who laid down duringthe nation’s resistance wars against French and US aggressors was heldat the Hanoi-based Quan Su Pagoda./.