The Art of Poetry and Peace

by Jeffrey A. Rothermel

January 18, 2026

Captain's Log:

The Mysteries of

the Politics of Peace

The 1964 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Martin Luther King Jr. nominated Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Nanh for the prize in 1967. Dr. King wrote to the Nobel Institute on January 25, 1967 saying:

"...I know Thich Nhat Hanh, and am privileged to call him my friend. Let me share with you some things I know about him. You will find in this single human being an awesome range of abilities and interests.

He is a holy man, for he is humble and devout. He is a scholar of immense intellectual capacity. The author of ten published volumes, he is also a poet of superb clarity and human compassion. His academic discipline is the Philosophy of Religion, of which he is Professor at Van Hanh, the Buddhist University he helped found in Saigon. He directs the Institute for Social Studies at this University. This amazing man also is editor of Thien My, an influential Buddhist weekly publication. And he is Director of Youth for Social Service, a Vietnamese institution which trains young people for the peaceable rehabilitation of their country.

Thich Nhat Hanh today is virtually homeless and stateless. If he were to return to Vietnam, which he passionately wishes to do, his life would be in great peril. He is the victim of a particularly brutal exile because he proposes to carry his advocacy of peace to his own people. What a tragic commentary this is on the existing situation in Vietnam and those who perpetuate it. ..."[1]

English poetry written by Thich Nhat Hanh (1926-2022) recently came to my attention. The calligraphy on the cover of the book was striking. It along with the artwork was done by Vietnamese painter, writer, and translator Vo Dinh Mai. The artist's pseudonym is Vo Dinh. The booklet of poetry by Thich Nhat Nanh appears to have been printed in 1968 with a pencil inscription and signature by the artist Vo Dinh.[2]

Multiple poems along with artwork are in the booklet.

Vo Dinh's auctioned artwork suggests a past and possibly a future following. [3.]

The Nobel Peace Prize was not awarded in 1966 or in 1967.[4] During that time Muhammad Ali was arrested on April 28, 1967 for refusing to be drafted into the U.S. Army. A jury found him guilty on June 20, 1967 of violating U.S. Selective Service (military draft) laws. The champion boxer was stripped of his boxing titles and not allowed to participate in the professional sport of boxing until his conviction was overturned.[5] Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968. The period was a turbulent, violent time. Seeing the poetry and art of the champions for peace wash into the bookshop is a magical moment.

The Cry of Vietnam (Click Me)

= = = = = NOTES.

[1.] Link to Dr. Martin Luther King's nomination letter of Thich Nhat Hanh, the "gentle Buddhist monk from Vietnam." Letter from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. nominating Thich Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967 | Plum Village (Accessed January 18, 2026).

[2] Poet Thich Nhat Nanh information: The Life Story of Thich Nhat Hanh | Plum Village (Accessed January 18, 2026); Artist Vo Dinh Mai Information: Vo Dinh (Accessed January 18, 2026).

[3.] Vo Dinh. Vietnamese | 1933 - 2009 Vo-Dinh | 12 Artworks | MutualArt (Accessed January 18, 2026)

[4] "The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded 106 times to 143 Nobel Prize laureates between 1901 and 2025, 112 individuals and 31 organisations. Since the International Committee of the Red Cross has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize three times (in 1917, 1944 and 1963), and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize two times (in 1954 and 1981), there are 28 individual organisations which have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize."[4a]

The Nobel Peace Prize was not awarded in 1966 or in 1967. (Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968.)

[4a.] All Nobel Peace Prizes - NobelPrize.org (Accessed January 18, 2026).

[5.] Muhammad Ali quick facts found on Wikipedia. Muhammad Ali - Wikipedia (Accessed January 18, 2026).