Cultural consciousness in contemporary poetry of the Mekong Delta and the Central Coastal Plain – From a comparative perspective

Abstract

This paper explores cultural consciousness in contemporary poetry from two regions: the Mekong Delta and the Central Coastal Plain of Vietnam. It elucidates their distinctive features and the intricate relationship between poetry and regional cultural identity. The poetry of Mekong Delta authors reflects a riverine consciousness, a life intertwined with fertile alluvium and abundant nature, embodying a free-spirited and folkloric essence. Meanwhile, the poetry from the Central Coastal Plain conveys a maritime consciousness, the harshness of nature, as well as a resilient spirit and deep contemplations on history and human existence. By analyzing the content and poetic techniques of representative works, this paper identifies both the differences and intersections in the cultural consciousness of these two regions while contributing to an understanding of the evolution of contemporary Vietnamese poetry in its process of inheriting tradition and adapting to modernity.