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| The works of Tran Vang Sao, Dam Phuong Nu Su, and To Nhuan Vy were published in books |
The writer who takes taxis for coffee every month
In the literary circles of Hue, not many people could afford to spend seven or eight million dong a month on the "morning coffee" hobby, as writer To Nhuan Vy does. His wife, writer Pham Thi Cuc, laughed and shared this hobby of her husband: "Almost every morning, he wakes up early, calls a taxi to go to the sidewalk on Nguyen Truong To Street to have coffee with a group of writer friends. If he doesn't go, it feels like something is missing." Despite his declining health and difficulty walking, his desire to socialize with friends only increased... When we visited their small house on Dai Nam Street, he hadn't returned from his morning coffee yet.
The writer To Nhuan Vy, whose real name is To The Quang, is from Vinh Xuan, Phu Vang. He studied at Hanoi Pedagogical University (1964) in the same class as poet Nguyen Khoa Diem, poet Pham Tien Duat, critic Vuong Tri Nhan, writer Nghiem Da Van, and writer To Hoang. After graduation, he taught in Hau Loc, Thanh Hoa for a year before volunteering to go to the battlefield in Thua Thien to work as a reporter for the Giai Phong and Co Giai Phong newspapers. As he once said, it was the life and struggle of his people that put the pen in his hand, leading him to become the author of three short story collections, one essay collection, and four novels. Among them, the 3-volume novel "Dong Song Phang Lang" (The Quiet River) is an epic-length novel, the longest and most epic in Southern Liberation Literature. To Nhuan Vy’s works before and after 1975 mostly focus on the land and people of Hue. In addition, he held many important positions in the Vietnam Writers' Association and the Thua Thien Hue Writers' Association, with his last position before retirement being Director of the Thua Thien Hue Department of External Affairs. He was awarded the State Prize for Literature and Art in 2012.
When we mentioned the topic of "The literature of Hue writers born in the year of the snake,” he smiled and said: "I don't really believe in astrology, but those born in the same year and growing up in the same era surely have some things in common. For example, our generation, if it hadn't been for the war, and if we hadn't fought on our own land in those years, not many of us would have become writers." "Our time," which he referred to, includes well-known authors like Tran Vang Sao, Truong Thi Cuc, Nguyen Minh Ngoc, Nguyen Duc Si Tien, Nguyen Duc Son... They all quietly turned to literature after dedicating themselves to the country in the war and in peacetime.
The famous snake-year writers
The first to mention is the author Dam Phuong Nu Su (1881-1947). Her real name was Cong Nu Dong Canh (granddaughter of Emperor Minh Mang), and her pen name was Dam Phuong, often referred to as Dam Phuong Nu Su (the woman who taught the princesses and palace maids). She was a writer, poet, cultural activist, and one of the first female journalists in the early period of Vietnamese journalism. Dam Phuong was an intellectual with rigorous training, proficient in Mandarin, the Vietnamese Quoc Ngu script, and French. Her poetry was mainly about nature, history, and women’s rights, including works like "Vinh Co Hoa Lau," "Hai Ba Trung," "Ba Trieu Au," and "Ba My Chau."
If we refer to the first poems and essays written in the Quoc Ngu script by her (such as "Remembering the Mountain Scenery," "Autumn Sky Feeling," "Narrating the Scenery of Huong River in the Afternoon," "Spring Day Outing to the Mountain...") published in Nam Phong magazine in 1918 and 1919 or the serialized "modern novels," "Kim Tu Cau," "Hong Phan Tuong Tri" published in Trung Bac Tan Van from 1923, she can be considered a pioneer of Hue's literature written in Quoc Ngu. She worked as an assistant writer for Trung Bac Tan Van (1919), held the "Women's Voice" column in Thuc Nghiep Dan Bao (1920), and managed the "Women's Literature" section in Huu Thanh Tap Chi(1922), writing about education, family, society, democracy, people's livelihoods, especially the women's rights struggle against the oppressive feudal rituals.
Born in the year of the fire snake, poet Nguyen Dinh Thu (1917-?) is one of the 46 authors listed by Hoai Thanh and Hoai Chan in their Thi Nhan Viet Nam (1942). He was born in the poor village of Phuoc Yen, Quang Tho, Quang Dien, studied at Quoc Hoc Hue, graduated with a Thanh Chung Degree, and worked as a clerk at the Hue Treasury. In 1946, he joined the anti-French resistance but was captured, tortured cruelly by the enemy, and died when he refused to disclose any information. He is the author of the poetry collection Huong Mau and is known for his melancholic and traditional lục bát poetry. His poems reflect a reserved, introspective character, filled with the sadness of being born in turbulent times and under foreign invasion. Critic Hoai Thanh once commented that his poetry is like "a fleeting feeling, a cold moonlit night, a few butterflies drawing circles, a parting moment, the heart of someone who has been forsaken, wandering with sorrow... The poet's heart is like an endless source of sorrow, spreading through the landscape, enveloping the moonlit sky."
Finally, we must mention Tran Vang Sao (1941-2018), born in the same year of the metal snake as To Nhuan Vy. Tran Vang Sao, a poet with a life intertwined with literature, infused his spirit into life through his unique poetry, devoid of rhythm, awkward like his own life, and flowing endlessly like his homeland river. Poet Tran Vang Sao's real name was Nguyen Dinh, born and raised in Phu Thuong. He joined the student movement, and then went to the battlefield, working in the Propaganda Department of the Hue City Party. After 1975, he worked in the Information and Culture Department of Hue City until his retirement. Tran Vang Sao wrote extensively, but only two poetry collections have been published: Calling for the Bodies of Comrades (2010) and The Poem of One Who Loves His Country (2016). He is famous for The Poem of One Who Loves His Country, a 155-line poem written in the battlefield in 1966, where he expresses his deep love for his country, saying, "And in love, I’ve learned how to live, longing for our unified country."