5 literary figures from Mai Xá village

For many people in Quang Tri , Mai Xa village is a familiar place, one of the 65 ancient villages belonging to Minh Linh district, Tan Binh prefecture, Thuan Hoa region in the past, now Gio Mai commune, Gio Linh district, Quang Tri province.

Not only is Mai Xa village, in this book meaning more broadly the villages of Gio Mai commune, a land with a rich revolutionary tradition, but it is also a land that has produced many talented individuals in the arts and literature. In terms of education, besides the famous scholarly families of Quang Tri province from the Truong, Le, and Bui clans, the village also boasts professors and doctors such as Professor Bui The Vinh, associate professors Bui Trong Ngoan and Bui Manh Hung, and doctors Bui Minh Tam and Bui Minh Thanh...

Cover of the book "5 Literary Figures of Mai Xá Village"

In terms of literature, many descendants of Mai village and Gio Mai commune have achieved fame in the literary world. Recently, journalist and writer Trieu Phong compiled the book "5 Literary Figures of Mai Xa Village" - Literature Publishing House, providing readers with a clearer understanding of the lives, careers, and works of five modern Vietnamese writers from Mai village. These writers are Nguyen Khac Thu, Truong Quang De, Ta Nghi Le, Chau La Viet, and Bui Phan Thao.

First, there is writer Nguyen Khac Thu, whose maternal hometown is Mai Xa village. He was born in 1921 and passed away in 1990, belonging to the first generation of members of the Vietnam Writers Association , in 1957. His main works include: The Battle of Thanh Huong (memoir, 1952); Dating (short story, 1955); The Shifting Land (novel, 1955); Breaking the Tan Son Nhat Bomb Depot (story, 1956); The Death Sentence (novel, 1958); Selected Works of Nguyen Khac Thu (2022). Along with writer Nguyen Dinh Thi, he won second prize from the Vietnam Association of Literature and Arts in 1952 for the memoir The Battle of Thanh Huong.

According to the anthology "Anthology of Military Writers": "Reading Nguyen Khac Thu, readers perceive a talented literary figure, with broad knowledge, a distinctive and sharp writing style that is very contemporary. It can be said that each of Nguyen Khac Thu's works leaves a historical mark in the hearts of readers and in the national literature" (Trieu Phong).

Poet Pham Ngoc Canh's memoirs in his book about Nguyen Khac Thu provide readers with a clearer picture of a talented and virtuous man, and highlight the misfortunes he suffered after achieving glory in the literary world.

Poet Pham Ngoc Canh, with his admiration for the literary talents of his predecessors, regarded writer Nguyen Khac Thu as his first mentor in his early writing career. He considered writer Nguyen Khac Thu, poet Hai Bang (Van Ton), and painter Tran Quoc Tien as the "three leading figures" of the resistance literature against the French in the Ba Long war zone.

The works excerpted in this book by Nguyen Khac Thu reveal the dangers faced by writers, journalists, and soldiers who bravely fought alongside the National Guard, living among the people in the war zone. This led to the legendary Battle of Thanh Huong, with its excellent writings about a battle that thrilled soldiers and compatriots. It also shows how these writers escaped enemy gunfire while disguised as woodcutters, passing through enemy bunkers on the highway to deliver freshly printed newspapers to the plains and cities...

Secondly, there is educator, writer, and researcher Truong Quang De, the son of Truong Quang Phien, former Chairman of the Quang Tri Provincial Resistance Administrative Committee during the anti-French resistance. Born in 1935, he was formerly an education expert in Africa and the former head of the Foreign Language Department at Hue University of Education. He has authored six works in Vietnamese and French, and translated and written six books on philosophy, economics , and social sciences.

Writer Trieu Phong praised Truong Quang De as a learned teacher, a fresh literary thinker, and a versatile and distinctive writer. Poet Bui Phan Thao, on the other hand, considered Truong Quang De's writings to be beautiful and full of meaning.

A typical example is the short story collection "Young Ladies from Well-Rated Families in Times of Turmoil," in which the title story tells the lives of well-to-do, educated young ladies whose lives were fraught with hardship and struggle due to the vicissitudes of the times. However, most of them overcame these challenges through willpower, talent, perseverance, and good fortune, recounting the beautiful stories of their lives through the pages of the book.

The author, with the perspective of someone who experienced it firsthand, tells the story with affection, writing with sincerity and overflowing with love. Through his writings, various historical periods of his homeland and country, across many regions, are recreated. The author's heart and emotions overflow from the words, for these are also parts of his life, especially the beautiful years of his youth and adulthood dedicated to the common cause of the nation.

The third writer in this book is Ta Nghi Le, a member of the Vietnam Writers Association, born in 1951 and passed away in 2008. His main works include: Loving a Poet (novel), The Sea Lion and I (short story collection), Different Lives (short story collection), Bright Skies (poetry collection), Passing Through the Curse, The Day of Return (film script), My Homeland (poetry collection)... Besides writing prose and poetry, he also acted in films with nearly 20 roles...

In his everyday life, poet Ta Nghi Le lived a gentle, amiable life, wholeheartedly loving his homeland of Quang Tri, and was well-liked by everyone. He was one of the editors of the journal "Homeland Love," which compiled the works of Quang Tri natives living abroad, published at the end of the year as a meaningful spring gift. Ta Nghi Le's prose was gentle and tender; his poetry was simple and sincere, just like his personality. He loved his homeland deeply.

"Is there any place like my homeland? / White cemeteries stretch across white sand dunes / Rice grains and sweet potatoes in the southern sun / Eating a bowl of rice feels so bitter in my heart..."

People from Quang Tri living far from home still remember his poems, set to music by Nguyen Tat Tung: "Where my first love was lost" or "The storm has passed, the pumpkin plant is blooming yellow again," bringing back nostalgic feelings of youth and a deep longing for their homeland during each flood season...

The fourth writer is Chau La Viet, born in 1952, a member of the Vietnam Writers Association. He is the son of musician Hoang Thi Tho and singer and Meritorious Artist Tan Nhan, famous for the song "Xa Khoi" by Nguyen Tai Tue. He enlisted in the army in 1969 and has written articles, prose, and poetry under various pseudonyms.

After 1975, he studied at Hanoi Pedagogical University and devoted himself to writing and journalism. He has published more than 30 works of poetry, short stories, plays, biographical sketches, etc., and has received many prestigious literary awards from the General Political Department and the Ministry of National Defense.

As a prolific and consistent writer with sharp intellect yet full of love and compassion in every page, his writing, like his life, is lyrical yet decisive and clear-cut. In particular, his writing is brimming with information, written in a captivating way that enthralls the reader from beginning to end. As writer Do Chu said, it's the scholarly nature of the writer; the literary profession chose him as a matter of course: “Chau La Viet is truly a descendant of a scholarly family. Having inherited the scholarly nature, it cannot be otherwise… Write as your mother used to sing. Carefully craft each word, each sentence, with the pain of a silkworm's heart and the nobility of silk. With ultimate passion and ultimate longing…”

Besides his chivalrous nature, Chau La Viet was also a man of deep gratitude and loyalty. He showed affection for his family, comrades, and childhood friends... by collecting and compiling their writings, such as compiling the anthology of writer Nguyen Khac Thu, his beloved uncle. According to writer Tran Hoang Thien Kim: "For Chau La Viet, writing prose and poetry was merely a pretext to do good deeds, to repay life for nurturing and protecting him, to repay his parents and the songs of his mother that raised him through a difficult childhood and many storms so that he could be at ease, carefree, and self-possessed today"...

The fifth writer in this collection is Bui Phan Thao, born in 1963, a member of the Vietnam Writers Association, currently residing in Ho Chi Minh City. To date, he has published nearly 10 books including poetry, short story collections, essays, and literary criticism. He received the Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association Award in 2022 and the 28th Mai Vang Award from the Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper for literature and art for his epic poem "The Smoke Returning to Heaven".

Despite being away from his hometown for decades, Bui Phan Thao always cherishes his homeland of Quang Tri, maintaining the character of a true Quang Tri native: sincere, wholehearted, and embracing tolerance as his guiding principle. Bui Phan Thao's poetry reflects his understanding of life, with profound reflections hidden within his words. According to poet and critic Nhat Chieu: "Bui Phan Thao has sought a genuine quality in poetry: tolerance. Because poetry is tolerant, it is the voice of the future. Poetry has inspired Bui Phan Thao like a bee inspires flowers, like the ephemeral blossoms of life."

As for journalist and musician Nguyen Thanh Binh: “Bui Phan Thao quietly chose a moment of silence for himself, not to observe life, but to silently write lyrical, experiential poems as a way of purifying his soul; freeing himself from habits and the sorrows of everyday life, to answer many pressing questions expressed in a very unique lyrical language”...

Nguyen Hoang Hoa

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/5-guong-mat-van-chuong-lang-mai-xa-188716.htm