International cruise tourists visit Can Gio Biosphere Reserve in HCMC. (Photo: Sggp)

A: Another Indian listener, Ratan Kumar Paul of West Bengal, emailed us and said he listened to our broadcasts from July 25 to 31 from 16:00 to 16:30 UTC on the frequency of 9550 kHz. He said: “…We and our friends all enjoy your programs and visit your webpage every day. Who is the most famous modern poet in Vietnam?”
B: We’ll tell you about Vietnam’s first modern poet: Tan Da.
A: The early 20th century was a fascinating time of modernization and westernization in all areas of Vietnamese cultural life. The poetry and literature of this time reflected the psychological strains and uncertainties, as well as the enthusiasms, of Vietnamese as they encountered western culture, yet struggled with the difficulties of being colonial subjects with limited control of their own destinies.
B: One figure who lived through this challenging time and expressed all of its wonders and contradictions was the poet Tan Da. Born in 1889, he grew up in a Confucian family that emphasized study of the Chinese classics, but during a time when the traditional exams no longer had any meaning.
A: So Tan Da attended western schools where he learned the Vietnamese Romanized script and French, but he encountered difficulties there as well. He deeply loved a woman from a high-class family, but knew that she and her family could only accept him if he passed the exams to qualify for a government position with an elevated social status.
B: But he failed the exams twice. The poem "Teasing Myself" sums up his bitterness at this rejection. The examiner commented that his writing was "too good."
A: Well, dear Kumar, we hope you are satisfied by our answer regarding Vietnam’s first modern poet Tan Da. If any of you have further questions regarding Vietnam and its culture, don’t hesitate to email us at englishsection@vov.org.vn. We’ll be more than happy to answer them.
B: You’re listening to the Letter Box on Radio the Voice of Vietnam and now, relax with a folksong of Vietnam before we continue with received listeners’ letters and emails during the week.
A folksong
A: Let’s continue now with a letter sent to us from Tokyo, Japan. In a letter dated July 28, Yoshihiro Kusanagi reported listening to our broadcast that day from 11:30 to 11:57 UTC on the frequency of 12020 kHz with a SINPO of 55444.
B: The a good reception quality enabled Yoshihiro to note down our program in pretty good detail. He said: “I know Vietnam and Russia have agreed to promote cooperation. The sea lane in the Pacific is becoming more and more important as the territorial problem is complicated among certain concerned countries, including Japan. I think neutral organizations like ASEAN should lead the role in developing and allocating natural resources in the region. I’m looking forward to your next program..”
A: Thank you, Yoshihiro, for your reception report and for sharing your thoughts about our programs. We’ll send you a QSL card to verify your report, along with our program guide and frequency list.
B: For the first time, Curtis W. Tooley of Morton, Illinois, USA sent us an email and said: “I would like to report the reception of your shortwave broadcast of August 4, 2012, at 02:22 UTC. Your transmission was received here with a SINPO of 43343. There Seemed to be a bit of adjacent channel interference but it was perfectly readable here in the central US”.
A: Welcome to the VOV listeners’ community, Curtis, and thank you for your report about our broadcast quality in the central US. Naturally, we’ll send you a reception verification and our latest program schedule.
B: From Yakutsk, Russia, Andrey Novolodsky emailed us his reception report for our August 3 broadcast, enclosing with four mp3 sound files. Andrey listened to us from 11:31 to 11:57 UTC on the frequency 12020 kHz with a SINPO of 45444.
A: This week we also received emails from Manikandt Lodaya of Karnataka, India. Medical professional Lodaya, who has been listening to shortwave radio for 25 years, said: “The half hour broadcast is good enough for Vietnamese and world news. But I’d like a bit of music and Vietnamese culture in detail such as stories about people, their lifestyle, etc…If you could increase your daily broadcast to South Asia to one hour, it would be great.”
B: Thank you so much, Lodaya, for your suggestion which was echoed by another regular listener, Chister Brunstrom of Halmstad, Sweden, who said: “…I believe you should increase coverage of events in Vietnam and neighboring countries….We seldom get news from Southeast Asia.”
A: Thank you all for your suggestions and recommendations. We’ll discuss these issues and try to improve our broadcasts in both content and quality to better serve our listeners worldwide.
B: This week we also received letters and emails from Eduardo Asteban Penailillo Bara of Santiago, Chile, Ted Schuerzinger of New York, Richard Lemke of Alberta, Canada, and Andreas Muecklich of Berlin, Germany.
A: Thank you all very much for joining us. We look forward to receiving more comments and suggestions from you. Our contact address is:
The English program,
Overseas Service,
Radio the Voice of Vietnam,
45 Ba Trieu street, Hanoi, Vietnam
B: Or you can email us at: englishsection@vov.org.vn.  Our program is also available on our website at: www.vovworld.vn.