Preserving the story of wartime through every brushstroke.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of Southern Vietnam, Kim Dong Publishing House is releasing the art book "The Mekong River in the Flames of War – Sketches and Poems," a collection of sketches, watercolors, poems, and letters by artist-soldiers created right on the battlefield during the resistance war against the US.

Preserving the story of wartime through every brushstroke.

Inspired by the painting "Girl, Gun and Flowers" by artist Tran Trung Tin, and later " Crossing the Ba Thac River ," American journalist and curator Sherry Buchanan decided to embark on a journey to explore and collect Vietnamese war art. "The Mekong River in Smoke and Fire - Sketches and Poems" is a result of that artistic journey. Together with art researcher Nam Anandaroopa Nguyen, Sherry Buchanan traveled throughout Vietnam from 1998 to 2015, interviewing dozens of wartime artists and collecting sketches, watercolors, and rare, previously unpublished documents.

This book was compiled by Sherry Buchanan and Nam Anandaroopa Nguyen, and translated into Vietnamese by Phan Thanh Hảo.

The works in this book were created amidst bombings and shelling, in dark bunkers, with enemy tanks just meters away. Each painting is not only a work of art, but also a living historical record, documenting the lives of soldiers, the home front, and the battlefield landscapes of Southern Vietnam from Tay Ninh and Ben Tre to Ca Mau during the period 1964–1975.

Images of soldiers, children, mothers, mountains, forests, tunnels, villages... emerge with a strong lyrical quality amidst the smoke and fire, expressing love for the homeland, courage, and the yearning for peace . In addition, the book introduces the poetry of Nguyen Duy and Le Anh Xuan – representative figures of resistance literature – with poems such as "The Stance of Vietnam," praising the noble sacrifices of the Liberation Army soldiers. Poetry is interwoven with memoirs, diaries, and moving letters from the battlefield, creating a vivid spiritual portrait of a historical period.

MAI AN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/luu-giu-cau-chuyen-thoi-chien-qua-tung-net-co-post792892.html