The mark of "Undercurrents in the land"

“Undercurrents in the Land” is a collection of prose, poetry, and critical theory by 14 authors who are members of the Vietnam Writers Association of Can Tho City, published by the People's Army Publishing House in September 2025. The book was born as a tribute to the authors who have contributed to the appearance of Mekong Delta literature in the national literature.

The 14 authors in this book were not all born and raised in Can Tho , but many came from other regions to Tay Do to study, work and chose this place to settle as their second home. During that time, the authors researched, wrote, and contributed significantly to the literature of Can Tho in particular and the Mekong Delta in general.

In particular, many works by authors born during the resistance war against the US to save the country encouraged and motivated the army and people to unite to repel the invaders and liberate the homeland. For example, the poem “A section of the wire” by poet Le Chi composed in August 1969 on the historic Route 1C with the pride of “… Going, going all day and night without rest / Heart to heart in the trenches / Taking each step on the road to fight the US / Feeling the soul soaring high”. Or “Fire of the Arc” (excerpt from the novel “Story like a novel” by writer Nguyen Khai Phong) is the fierce atmosphere of war, the brave fighting spirit of soldiers during the Tet Mau Than days of 1968.

The book is also a profound memory, creating impressions through each work of the next generation living in peace and joining the army, creating a diverse literary genre, with all perspectives on the topic of armed forces and revolutionary war. That is the story between the liberation soldier and the liaison girl who accidentally met in the outskirts of Can Tho, becoming an unforgettable nostalgia in the short story "The Past Passes" by author Nguyen Linh. That is the beautiful but incomplete love between the soldier doing international duty to help his Cambodian friends and the teacher in the countryside in the short story "The Bimp Cries in the Afternoon in the Old Dream" by author Cao Thanh Mai. That is the sad and regretful mood of author Nguyen Trung Nguyen in "Roll Call of Comrades": "Five vertical rows - the tombstones standing straight / One horizontal row - the white reeds at the end of the sky / Thirty years! Now taking the roll call again / The children - the children who have been far away from home!...".

In addition, authors who are attached to the teaching profession have fresh feelings about the fertile land of Tay Do, the generous, righteous, and open-minded people of the Southwest region for generations. In the short story “Green Garden” by author Luong Minh Hinh, there is the idea of ​​innovation to enrich the country and contribute to building the homeland. And author Truc Linh Lan still cannot forget in “Missing the Plains”: “… Grandfather carried a basket on his back all his life/ Parents wandered as poor tenant farmers/ Lullaby songs drifted with the flood/ Rice grains moved to separate their shells to create poems…”. And these are the concluding lines in the poem “The Monkey Bridge of the Year 2000” by author Le Dinh Bich with the belief: “… Fatherland/ The difficult years are over/ Oh people!/ Take off your shirt and cross the bridge… the blue sky is green again…”.

Reading “Undercurrents in the Land” will help you feel the love for the mother of the National Hero Nguyen Trung Truc before his execution in the epic poem “Nguyen Trung Truc” by writer Nguyen Ba; the war against French colonialism that tore apart the children in the short story “North Wind Crossing the Fields” by author Ho Kien Giang ; the scene of “Majestic, rich but also cruel and dangerous land and forest” in the short story “Black Tiger” by author Dang Thu Cuu; the memories of relatives, of “On the night of the Lantern Festival, the moon flows wet the plains/ The whole delta lies on its side listening to the moon breathe…” by author Phan Huy; the basis for the profound research and theory of author Le Xuan when “Further discussion on the language element in a good poem”.

According to the editorial board, choosing the short story title “Undercurrents in the Land” - authentic, unadorned slices of life in the river delta region of Phat Duong - for this book shows that the previous generation always appreciates the serious writing spirit, nurturing the passion of the youngest writer born in 1995 featured in the book. At the same time, believing in the success of today’s and future generations on the not-so-easy path of literary career, seeing this as a “bridge” connecting students studying and working in Can Tho to literature, contributing to creating a mark on Cuu Long literature in the future.

Kien Giang Lake

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/dau-an-song-ngam-trong-dat--a191771.html