The writer wearing a soldier's uniform has a heavy heart for Thai Nguyen.

The years of wearing a soldier's uniform and participating in the battle at Cao Bang front in 1979 have trained and nurtured in author Phan Thai a life full of contemplation. Therefore, it is not surprising that readers can feel the spirit of a soldier permeating through each line of poetry and sentence in his works.

In 1978, listening to the call of the Fatherland, young man Phan Thai joined the army, assigned to Battalion 1, Regiment 677, Division 346, stationed in Ngan Son district (Cao Bang).

After training, he and his unit marched to Tra Linh district (Cao Bang), with the main task of being a liaison soldier conveying the commander's orders to combat positions.

After the war, he was assigned to work as a staff member of the Political Department of Regiment 677 until June 1982 when he was discharged. During this time, he passed the entrance exam to the University of Mining and Geology, and then worked as a mining engineer at Phan Me Coal Mine.

Having had a talent for writing and poetry since childhood, it was only after completing his mission at the northern border that Phan Thai truly entered a literary career and initially achieved certain successes.

The unforgettable memories of the days of fighting on the high point of the Cao Bang border area were put by author Phan Thai into his poem:

Regarding the country, a broad topic that always makes readers think of great images, author Phan Thai finds the shape of the country right in the customs and culture close to the countryside, through simple but profound verses: "The spicy betel has taken the shape of a lost bird/ Mother's lullaby lulls the soul like mountains and rivers" .

The betel contains legends, history, culture and also sentiment: "Six areca nuts split into three, whole leaves cover torn leaves/ Our country has been a legend for thousands of years" (The Country of Spicy Betel) . That love is simple and close to everyone: "Oh, our Fatherland, each person is like a grain of rice/ Five sunny days, ten rainy days, fragrant crops". There is also a surprising, emotional, sacred comparison of the country, making readers excited:

In addition to the themes of mother, village, and country, Phan Thai's poems always contain the pain and suffering of soldiers, mothers, and soldiers' wives in the post-war period. Since his first poem was published in 1982 in the Army Literature Magazine, he has composed and published 3 collections of poems, including: "Quay nang vao dem", "Ve song xua", "Hoa nang ngay xua".

In recent years, Phan Thai has spent more time writing prose and has been successful in most genres: short stories, novels and even screenplays.

In the last ten years alone, he has published more than a dozen books, along with many memoirs, reports, and essays. He is also a rare writer in Thai Nguyen who dares to "take the initiative" to write about difficult topics such as industry, workers, and history, and has many solid, elaborate works.

Working in the Prose Association (Provincial Literature and Arts Association) with writer Phan Thai, I always felt that he was a person with a strong love for history and his homeland. With a deep love for culture and the heroic history of his homeland and nation, he was always passionate about reading historical knowledge, took the trouble to go to many places and in just the past few years, he has published many novels, memoirs, and reports on this topic.

His historical novels include: "Linh Son Tu Chien" published by Literature Publishing House in 2017, a story about ethnic minority leaders who commanded people and soldiers to fight against the invading Song army in 1072.

In which, the Linh Son battle took place on the Cau River, the section flowing through Thai Nguyen territory, was a battle to prevent the Song army from pouring down from the direction of Quang Nguyen and Cao Bang.

"Sunshine Behind the Sun" is a novel about the 915th Youth Volunteer Company, part of the legendary 91st Northern Thai Team. Following his success, he wrote and published 3 historical novels: "The Sword and the Taro Tree" about the Dai Viet soldiers in the resistance war against the invading Song army; "Bloody Dawn" about the uprising to seize power from the Japanese fascists on April 30, 1945 - the victory that opened the August Revolution of 1945 in Thai Nguyen province; "Thai Nguyen Hieu Quan Su" is about the great poet Nguyen Du in his youth when he was appointed as the Chief of the Military Command and acting as the Governor of Thai Nguyen.

Most recently, Phan Thai published the book “Listen to the Mountains Sing the Brocade Songs”, published by the Labor Publishing House with more than 50 articles and essays about the history and culture of Thai Nguyen. In this book, we encounter a Phan Thai who is passionate about writing, seriously researching the history of the origin of the nation, the locality, and the beautiful cultural features of the province. There are many successful pages with valuable information about the land and people of Thai Nguyen from the past to the present.

The book is also rich in documents about generations of Thai Nguyen people who participated in building the country, defending the country and building a rich and beautiful homeland, from national heroes to workers of Phan Me Coal Mine, Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel and many simple, rustic farmers.

Readers can also “travel” through each page of the book when visiting the countryside with historical and cultural beauty, with many unique customs and practices of the ethnic groups.

Talking about his plans for the future, author Phan Thai confided: I will focus on writing novels about revolutionary war, and still spend time traveling to different regions to have more writings about the land and people of Thai Nguyen...