Great Throughts Treasury
This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.
Nguyễn Chí Thiện,, given name Chi Thien
Vietnamese-born American Dissident, Activist, Poet, Author who spent twenty-seven years in prison in North Vietnam because of his satiric criticism of the Communist regime of Ho Chi Minh
"All perishes, only poetry remains."
"They exiled me to the heart of the jungle Wishing to fertilise the manioc with my remains. I turned into an expert hunter And came out full of snake wisdom and rhino fierceness. They sank me into the ocean Wishing me to remain in the depths. I became a deep sea diver And came up covered with scintillating pearls."
"So that it can overflow into a thousand waves, White-crested ones that will sweep everything away!"
"Let the hacks with their prostituted pens Comb his beard, pat his head, caress his arse! To hell with him!"