Fred Marchant

Poet and translator, workshop teacher, and manuscript consultation

  • About
    • Interviews
  • Poems
  • Essays
  • News
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Poetry
  • Translation
  • Editor
  • Anthologies
  • All Books

Con Dao Prison Songs of Vo Que

By Fred Marchant, Nguyen Ba Chung and Vo Que

Con Dao Prison Songs of Vo Que
$15.00
  • Publisher: Nha Xuat Ban Hoi Nha Van
  • Edition: Bi-lingual First Edition
  • Available in: Hardback
  • Published: June 1, 2015
Purchase, USPurchase, Vietnam
Vo Que’s poems are co-translated by Fred Marchant and Nguyen Ba Chung. 
This bi-lingual edition of the “Prison Songs” also contains essays by Fred Marchant and To Nhuan Vy.

Vo Que

Vo Que was born in Hue, Vietnam, in 1948, and was a student leader during the years of the American war. He was arrested by the Saigon government, and imprisoned for a year on Con Dao Island. He wrote these poems during his imprisonment. He is the author of several books of poetry, memoirs, plays, and fiction, and has garnered many literary awards. He is also a renowned singer of classical and folkloric Vietnamese songs, especially the music of his native region around the Perfume (Huong) River which runs through Hue City in Central Vietnam.

Con Dao Prison

Côn Đảo Prison (Vietnamese: Nhà tù Côn Đảo), also known as Côn Sơn Prison, is a prison on Côn Sơn Island the largest island of the Côn Đảo archipelago in southern Vietnam. Built in 1861 by the French colonial administrators, it was primarily used to hold Vietnamese political opponents of the French. During the years of the United States-Vietnam War, the Sai Gon regime continued that tradition, using it to jail political dissidents, including Buddhist monks. The prison became infamous for its “tiger cages”–five foot by nine foot enclosures where prisoners were shackled, often starved, beaten, and tortured. Approximately 20,000 men and women perished in Con Dao Prison–summarized from Don Luce‘s essay, “The Tiger Cages of Viet Nam,” available online at https://www.historiansagainstwar.org/resources/torture/luce.html

This book is distributed only in Vietnam, but copies are available from the translator.


Prison Bell

The sound of fear, the sound of misery:

a midnight bell that points to the distant moon.

A net of all that is wrong drapes over my soul

as the prisoner deep in his cave steels his will.

Share:

Tagged with: Translation

Let's stay in touch!

* = required field

Follow Me

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Search

Privacy and Cookie Policy

  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

Copyright © 2023 Fred Marchant · created by Present Tense

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. ACCEPTCookie settingsRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT