1. The De Men Children's Award, established in 2020, has created a vibrant atmosphere for children's literature in the country. However, the fact that prose is "overwhelming" in the award seasons has made many people believe that the De Men Award is "prejudiced" against poetry!
Therefore, when the manuscript of Ly Thang Long's poetry collection "There Is a Flat Earth in My Eyes" (the previous year's award went to La Thanh Ha's "Secret Little Kingdom") was honored at the 6th Cricket Children's Award 2025, it dispelled those "rumors." According to the judging panel, Ly Thang Long's poetry collection "impresses with its combination of innocent perspective and the ability to evoke profound reflection...".
The poetry collection "There's a Flat Earth in My Eyes" comprises 26 poems, mostly written in free verse but still rich in musicality. Through poems such as: "When You Sleep," "Where You've Been," "You Also Have a Train Station," "When You Stumble," "The Wanderers and Mother's Advice,"..., Ly Thang Long seems to be whispering his feelings to young children, who are also the inner child within himself. The themes in his poetry are diverse, ranging from childhood dreams, family feelings, the journey of growing up, to reflections on the flat age, where the world is both vast and lonely.
In fact, Ly Thang Long is not entirely a "newcomer" to literature. Before his poetry collection "There's a Flat Earth in My Eyes," in 2021, he released a collection of short stories titled "How Strange Puberty Is" (Kim Dong Publishing House), offering humorous stories and portraying the psychological and physiological changes of adolescence. This is not an easy topic, so it seems that not many authors have explored it yet. "Initially, I sent a long story manuscript to Kim Dong Publishing House, but it was rejected because I hadn't yet perfected my writing technique and structure. However, the publisher's representative said that my manuscript had some interesting highlights regarding gender themes, along with a unique writing style, and they hoped I could write a collection of short stories about puberty. That was the motivation for me to complete the short story collection 'How Strange Puberty Is'," Ly Thang Long recalled.
Before enlisting in the army, Ly Thang Long was a member of the Literature Committee of the Dong Nai Provincial Association of Literature and Arts. He recounted that his father was a commanding officer who often worked far from home, so from a young age, he mainly lived with his mother, a civil servant in the health sector. Although strict in raising her children, surprisingly, his mother was very generous in buying books for them to read. Furthermore, his father was also a voracious reader, so as he grew up, he inherited that valuable "asset." From his passion for reading, Ly Thang Long gradually took up writing without even realizing it.
2. Interestingly, the manuscript for the poetry collection "There's a Flat Earth in My Eyes" was completed by Ly Thang Long during his military service at the Dong Nai Provincial Military Command. After graduating from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education in 2024, he volunteered to join the army. According to Ly Thang Long, training and duties in the military were very demanding, so he would often fall asleep as soon as he lay down at the end of the day. Sometimes, even holding chopsticks and a bowl would make his hands tremble, let alone holding a pen. “The day I put on my backpack, I knew I might have to stop writing for at least two years or more, as my literary career had only just begun. But in the military environment, I wrote whenever I could, even during my most drowsy moments. I always had to keep a pen and paper ready in my pockets; every word had to be written…,” Ly Thang Long shared.
Ly Thang Long stated that he plans to be discharged from the military before the Lunar New Year of 2026. After completing his service, he will spend time traveling and writing books to gain more experience before settling down. “Of course, all plans are relative, and I rarely share my plans with anyone, including family members, before they happen. Because life always has surprises, just like how people end each chapter of a novel. If things go off track, we can only use perseverance to rewrite it. And that requires a lot of courage,” Ly Thang Long expressed.
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/ly-thang-long-chang-quan-nhan-tre-me-van-chuong-post806039.html
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