Nguyen Hoa reviews works of some young writers and poets in 2005, who work seriously for their devotion and love of literature.  

The New Year of the Dog has come. As an occupational habit, I have thought of young writers, whose works I have read and with whom I have chatted and debated at bars and cafes. Debating or even criticising them, I still respect them because amid concerns in daily life and material-based standards controlling behaviour of many people of their age, there are still young men and women who realy live and works with and for literature, which cannot immediately earn them a laptop or a Future motorbike. These people accept the disadvantages, working very hard. Unofficial statistics show that in 2005, young writers introduced hundreds of works, of which there were many good works that the literature could not miss. Again, mentioning young writers, I usually think about ‘good literature’ or ‘not good literature’ and age is only one of the many factors that help create a literary work. However, from the point of view of process, it is impossible to omit ‘old age’ or ‘young age’ and then young writers will become the hope of future literaturature.

What impressed me most in 2005 was three historical novels, two of which were recently published - ‘Mat Dem’ (Night Eye) by Duong Ngoc Hoan (Tran Ngoc Linh) and ‘Nam Chi Toan Do Truyen’ whose part was published with the name ‘Duong ve Ha Tien’ (Road to Ha Tien) by Nguyen Thi Diep Mai. Another is ‘Tran Quoc Toan’ by Luu Son Minh. Accidentally, both Duong Ngoc Hoan and Luu Son Minh ‘rushed’ into the themes, in which their precedessors have partly succeeded. In ‘Mat Dem’ Duong Ngoc Hoan faces famous Vietnamese writers Nguyen Tuan and Ho Dzenh when writing about the life of singers in Vietnam in the early 20th century. Luu Son Minh faces a great shadow of ‘La Co Theu Sau Chu Vang’ (The Flag Embroided with Six Golden Letters) by Nguyen Huy Tuong. Both Duong Ngoc Hoan and Luu Son Minh, I believe, have succeeded with their ‘Mat Dem’ and ‘Tran Quoc Toan.’ They have been able to step out of the great shadow of once famous writers in the same type and theme, which even mature writers do not enter. Nguyen Thi Diep Mai, a woman writer from Kien Giang, who I thought would live with modern themes, after her success with ‘Tra Hoa Hong Cho Dat’ ‘(Returning Rose to the Land), which won Prize B of the Thanh Nien (Youth) Publishing House, introduced a historical novel with 1,000 pages. ‘Nam Chi Toan Do Truyen’ talks about the ancient time, when Vietnamese people expanded the homeland and in Ha Tien, homeland of Diep Mai, father and son Mac Cuu and Mac Thien Tich broke the soil with their first hoe to reclaim a new land. Leave the discussion on the good and the not so good of the three novels aside, here I want to talk about my respect to each of the three authors, for their passion and seriousness. Writing historical novels, writers cannot use instant factors that they have experienced in their life. Instead, they had to spend time reading and researching, learning and thinking how to novelise history. From that point of view, the three authors have succeeded and I would like to congratulate them.

In a context of Vietnamese literature in 2005 when several young writers attracted much attention from the public, not so much for their achievements, but for their ‘abnormality,’ short-story ‘Canh Dong Bat Tan‘ (Boundless Rice Field) by Nguyen Ngoc Tu became a highlight. With the same southern literary style, which bear the both simple and human character, I met a completely different Nguyen Ngoc Tu in ‘Canh Dong Bat Tan,’ who without her great talent, may create a grey and dark ‘picture.’ Before the work, I had thought that if Ngoc Tu continued with what she had shown she could have quickly walked on the beaten track. However, with ‘Canh Dong Bat Tan,’ Ngoc Tu proves her efforts to search for new things, avoiding any repeats as many other young writers who have done after some of the initial successes. There is no doubt that Ngoc Tu has a tatent, even for such hard-to-please people as me!

Mentioning young women writers, I cannot but talk about Do Bich Thuy, the only woman writer who is always loyal to a theme about mountainous areas. Do Bich Thuy does not ‘drop in’ to visit the life of the Mong, Tay and Nung people in the northeastern region. She really lives with them, gets to know them and writes about them with great sympathy. With a transparent and emotional style, after two collections of short stories ‘Sau Nhung Mua Trang’ (After Moon Seasons) and ‘Nhung Buoi Chieu Ngang Qua Cuoc Doi’ (Afternoons Across the Life), in 2005 Do Bich Thuy introduced ‘Bong Cua Cay Soi’ (The Shadow of the Oak). Also, with a theme about the mountainous areas, but the novel has a broader space with more complicated fates of characters. There seems to be a Do Bich Thuy of a new composing period?

2005 saw the return of young poetess Vi Thuy Linh with ‘Dong Tu’ (Little Boy). In the collection, we met a maturer Vi Thuy Linh of great love for life and people. With ‘Dong Tu,’ Vi Thuy Linh has reached new heights, which I suppose is really her style, different from what I read in ‘Thieu Phu va Con Duong’ (A Woman and the Road) or ‘Doi Canh Cua Me’ (Wings of the Mother). Intelligence and talent are not enough. What we should concentrate on this poetess is her development orientations.

With ‘Nhung Tro Dua Co Loi’ (Fault Jokes), Tran Hoang Thien Kim introduced another style. Love poems as they are, the poems in the collection have something profound and passionate together with half-rural and half-urban feelings.

The similiarity can be found in poems of two poetesses under the same name Nguyen Thuy Quynh. One poetess is reported to live in Ho Chi Minh City and the other, in Thai Nguyen. One poetess is thoughtful and does not care for technique and the other, passionate and elegant. Apart from their poems, I know no thing about them yet.

There are many other young writers and poets in every corner of the country, including soldier Do Tien Thuy, who came to the Nguyen Du school for writers from the Central Highlands, with a collection of short stories ‘Gio Dong Se Sat’ (Whithered Field Wind). The collection seems to act as a bridge linking Ha Tay, Do Tien Thuy’s home locality, and the Central Highlands, where he grew up. Also Nguyen Ngoc Thuan, who wrote ‘Vua Nham Mat Vua Dong Cua So’ (Shutting Eyes while Shutting Windows), ‘Tren Doi Cao Chan Bay Thien Su’ (Taking Care of Angels on the Hill) and recently ‘Mot Thien Nam Mong.’

Literature of a nation is always an unceasing flow, linking generation to generation and tomorrow literature starts today. I do believe in writers and poets who live and work hard, as I think they are those who will develop the literature of the future. Finally, I agreed with Nguyen Thi Diep Mai, who said in an interview: “We work seriously. We love literature as mush as we love our life. We express our creativity and love for literature in specific ways. We hope our love and work will be shared. Please don’t look at us as the tramps, but the working people.”

By NGUYEN HOA