Imprint of Lao Cai prose

In my hand is a publication that still smells of ink: Collection of Good Short Stories from Lao Cai. The feeling of excitement is hard to describe because the publication was released by the Lao Cai Literature and Arts Association right on the occasion when the whole country was excitedly organizing activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the country's unification, which is also the 50th anniversary of literature and arts after the country's reunification.

The collection of Good Short Stories from Lao Cai includes 27 works by 18 authors who are members of the Provincial Literature and Arts Association. These are award-winning works or impressive works by some Lao Cai prose writers in recent times.

Those are “On the cliff”, “Mother Dung” by the late writer Ma A Lenh, with a gentle writing style like pouring out one’s heart easily. Reading his works, we will imagine the life, customs, culture as well as the character of the Mong people in the highlands: “ That Tet, precariously on the wild mountain slope, called Doc Nui Lo, appeared a shack, shabby, simple like a makeshift shack to watch the corn fields. That was the house of Mr. and Mrs. Gie Song. Initially shabby, because they only had bare hands. But they had plenty of strength and diligence, just by looking at the knife cutting firewood, the hoe cutting into the ground, you could tell. They devoted themselves to each other, then after just a few rice crops, a few farming seasons, Xeng Lau would have food and property, pigs and chickens filled the pens and yards, buffaloes, cows, horses, goats, sheep filled the fields, and were respected by everyone .” (On the cliff). Writer Nguyen Van Cu with “Story at Ban Thanh”, “Love story by Tinh Yeu waterfall” are pages of literature filled with life documents, showing the depth and experience of a leader who was close to the masses and the grassroots before writing. Writer Doan Huu Nam, who has a huge collection of short stories and novels, chose to publish excerpts from the novel Human Roots – a work that won the A prize – a writing contest on the topic of national security (organized by the Vietnam Writers Association and the Ministry of Public Security ) and the short story “Thuan dong”. These are works that bear the mark of Doan Huu Nam – a writer who always delves into many aspects of life with pages of literature that are ethereal yet still full of realism. With writer and teacher Cao Van Tu, the book’s editorial board chose to publish “The Little Horseman” and “Return to Sin Chai”, gentle short stories for children, typical of a teacher and writer, a lifetime devoted to the career of educating people, with pages written for children…. The collection also includes short stories by the authors: Nguyen Van Tong, Nguyen Xuan Man, Tran Thi Minh, Trinh Bang, Ngo Quyen. Each author has a different style and story.

For young authors, the anthology introduces to readers writer Hoang Anh Tuan, the youngest of the four members of the Vietnam Writers Association of Lao Cai. Tuan has a strong point in poetry, so when he switches to prose, his words are also soaring, soaring like the verses " The light rain flutters on mother's head, on her dress, but it doesn't wet her head or dress. Oh, the January rain is either mist or smoke. With each step mother takes, the young grass sprouts and throbs under her feet. Looking at the belt blowing in the wind, Tung thought his mother was tying two lines of Diem Ho, one side erodes, one side builds, one side remembers, one side loves " (The sound of the drum in the rowing boat on a Spring night), with descriptive sentences full of imagery such as " The winter night in Phieng Ban village is really long like a thread sewing a cotton mattress. Huoi Nua mountain collapses like the thin and anxious chest of a sixteen-year-old girl " (The red-strap cotton mattress). Nguyen Thi Thu Trang with her very lyrical and youthful short stories: Hoa looked at Sinh talking about their dreams and plans of the past, Hoa's heart felt warmed by Sinh's smile filled with spring sunshine, he gently stroked her fluttering hair, picked up the peach blossom petals that fell on her shoulder. That's right, Hoa had to continue studying, and Hoa too. Hoa and Sinh would fulfill their dream of building Dao village into a tourist village. Then here and there, tourist houses would spring up, under the peach trees, each Mong girl of his village was still diligently embroidering colorful patterns and talking and laughing happily, Hoa took out her flute to play, each note was bustling and cheerful, somewhere far away his parents must have found each other and were watching him live happily... (The sound of the flute on the hillside).

The anthology introduces works by some authors who have experimented with the short story genre for the first time but have achieved success, such as Nguyen Thanh Long, Nguyen Thi Hang, Luu Tu Anh... Especially Chu Nguyen Thuy Duong, a young author who is experimenting with both poetry and short stories, has also achieved success with a number of awards, leaving an impression on readers. Her first short story " The cotton tree blooms" with content about a difficult issue: deeply exploring faith, spirituality and the cruel victory over fate has been selected by the book's Editorial Board for the anthology.

Over the years, with talent, professional pride, responsibility, passion and desire for creativity, Lao Cai prose writers have united, made efforts, gradually asserted themselves, and contributed to the work of building the foundation for Lao Cai literature and the development of the country's literature. The book may not have met the expectation of introducing the achievements of the writers, but the Editorial Board has tried to select and introduce typical works in the literary harvest of the authors during the renovation period. Respectfully introduce to readers.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/dau-an-van-xuoi-lao-cai-post401161.html