Writer Thach Lam with journalistic essays rich in literary quality

Thach Lam (1910 - 1942) was a writer in the Tu Luc Van Doan group. He was the younger brother of two other writers in the Tu Luc Van Doan group, Nhat Linh and Hoang Dao. In addition to the pen name Thach Lam, he also had the pen names Viet Sinh and Thien Sy.

Thach Lam was born in Hanoi into a family of mandarins. His original name given to him by his parents was Nguyen Tuong Vinh. When Thach Lam was 15 years old, he realized that he was a slow learner and needed to increase his age to "skip" 4 years, so he changed his birth certificate to Nguyen Tuong Lan.

Writer Thach Lam

Photo: Document

Thach Lam's father died early, his mother single-handedly raised her mother-in-law and 7 children. Wanting to support the family early, Thach Lam asked his mother to talk to the village chief to change his name and increase his age so that he could study at the same level. Next, he passed the entrance exam to the Agricultural College in Hanoi, but only studied for a while, then went to Albert Sarraut High School. After passing the Baccalaureate I, Thach Lam stopped studying to work as a journalist with his two brothers.

At first, he joined the Tu Luc Van Doan founded by his brother Nguyen Tuong Tam (Nhat Linh), and was assigned to edit the Phong Hoa weekly newspaper and the Ngay Nay newspaper. In February 1935, he was assigned to be the editor-in-chief of Ngay Nay newspaper. Although it was just a thatched roof and earthen walls, his house was a frequent place for artists and writers. In addition to the members of the Tu Luc Van Doan, there were also The Lu, Vu Hoang Chuong, Dinh Hung, Nguyen Xuan Sanh, Nguyen Tuan, Huyen Kieu, Nguyen Xuan Khoat...

According to Thach Lam's relatives, although he was 1.7 m tall, much taller than the average height of Vietnamese people at that time, Thach Lam's health was not good. A difficult childhood combined with a life of hard work for food and clothing caused Thach Lam to soon contract tuberculosis, one of the incurable diseases at that time. He died in 1942, when he was still in his prime in the literary world.

Most of Thach Lam's works were published in newspapers before being printed into books. Among them, we must mention typical works such as: Cold wind at the beginning of the season , Sunshine in the garden , New day , Following the stream , Hair thread ...

Writer Vu Bang recounted: "Thach Lam loved life more than anyone else. He cherished a cup of hot fresh tea, solemnly bringing it to his mouth to drink almost reverently... as if thanking heaven and earth for giving him life to enjoy such deliciousness. He was careful with every word he said to the salesgirl for fear of saying something wrong... making people feel hurt and sad. Thach Lam walked gently... He was a unique person, talented and humble...".

Thach Lam is a representative writer of the Tu Luc Van Doan group and a writer with a special position in modern Vietnamese literature before the August Revolution. Besides his role as a writer of short stories rich in poetry and humanity, Thach Lam is also an excellent journalist, leaving a deep impression in this field thanks to his gentle, delicate writing style, imbued with literary qualities, along with progressive and humane thoughts.

He regularly wrote for Phong Hoa and Ngay Nay , the main mouthpieces of Tu Luc Van Doan. Thach Lam was in charge of editing, contributing to the serious, profound but still friendly style of Ngay Nay . He wrote editorials, book reviews, and current affairs and literary comments in a gentle tone but containing progressive ideas, paying special attention to the lives of ordinary people, women and children. He led readers to a reading culture and spiritual life. In many articles, Thach Lam encouraged reading, maintaining a noble and ethical lifestyle, especially emphasizing cultural andeducational values.

Thach Lam's articles are often structured like short essays, telling simple life stories, observing gently, combined with subtle commentary. Typically, the articles published in the Following the Stream and Going Here and There sections of the newspaper Ngay Nay , he observed and reflected on the changes in social life through each daily breath.

For Thach Lam, journalistic language must be rich in emotion but clear and accessible. He uses simple language, close to the reader but still maintains standards and elegance. The way he tells about street vendors, small alleys, or shoe shine children all move readers with a writing style that touches the depths of the human heart. Instead of eloquent or strong criticism like many contemporary writers, Thach Lam writes with subtlety, empathy, gentleness and effectiveness. He does not avoid reality, but chooses to touch people's hearts rather than criticize.

Thach Lam expanded the concept of journalism: Not only is it a place to reflect social politics , but it is also a place to build spiritual life, enhance personality, spread kindness with literary quality that makes journalism sustainable and profound. Thach Lam's articles are still valuable as small literary works. That shows that an article can become eternal if written with the heart and eye of an artist.

In a period when many writers chose the path of strong criticism, Thach Lam chose gentleness but still no less moving in awakening readers. This is a great lesson for modern journalists: kindness is also a form of resistance. Thach Lam is a unique phenomenon of Vietnamese journalism and literature before the August Revolution. He quietly built a type of humane, artistic journalism, making readers not only see society clearly, but also see themselves again. Under his pen, journalism became a cultural bridge connecting people with each other through beautiful emotions and profound thoughts. (to be continued)

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nha-van-thach-lam-voi-nhung-tuy-but-bao-chi-giau-chat-van-18525062022044485.htm