The writer Phùng Văn Khai is one of the very few literary colleagues who have astonished me. Indeed, it's hard to find another word, as the level of astonishment always surpasses the universally accepted dimension. And Khai himself created "concepts" that, to fully capture the essence of Phùng Văn Khai, I could only find one key, no matter how hard I tried. One key that opens many "houses."
Who is Phùng Văn Khai (PVK)? Tell me right away.
I can't say much right away, except for the personal details I know: His private life - Born in 1973, married early, became a grandfather in his fifties. His position: Lieutenant Colonel, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Army Literature and Arts magazine. That's all I can say quickly.
And what about literary portraits? Usually, every few months or six months, I receive news that Khai has published or is about to publish a new book. Meeting Khai is like a Rubik's Cube complex. Who doesn't like gifts? Coming to Khai means receiving a gift - a new book. Being knowledgeable and avid readers, I consider books a circulating gift. If I read something good, I keep it for my children and promote it to others - a branch of the generous and generous spirit I inherited from my father's Cao Bang bloodline and my mother's straightforward and resolute commitment to art from Hai Phong, so I did something unusual: I distributed PVK's novels to my well-known contacts.
PVK shattered my long-held surprise with his admiration. While admitting to being merely a student of writer Hoang Quoc Hai, the sheer volume of books he has published has led me to believe that PVK is not a true disciple of anyone, but rather a brilliant historical novelist of contemporary Vietnamese literature. He is a valiant warrior embarking on a perilous path for which no insurance company can provide safety; his only insurance is his patriotism and courage. In an era of rampant materialism, where falsehoods outweigh truths, a writer with a thorough understanding of "history" is rare, yet one who dedicates himself to researching and compiling historical materials to create works no one else has done is truly a rare and unrivaled figure, if not the current champion.
With my books being so heavy and my thoughtfulness for giving gifts to friends, I had to rent a 7-seater car to have enough space to go back to Hai Phong . I was fortunate enough to personally deliver the novel Ngo Vuong by PVK to the Hai Phong Party Secretary Le Van Thanh and the City Chairman Nguyen Van Tung in the spring of 2021, and they both appreciated it.
PVK, an outstanding student of the 6th cohort at the Nguyen Du School of Creative Writing (Hanoi University of Culture), entered the school in 1998 – and upon becoming a member of the Vietnam Journalists Association – has never been crushed by the "journalistic grinder," despite being a prolific writer and filmmaker. He remains a top literary figure of the 70s generation today. He is keenly observant and selective about details, sensitive, emotional, and cultivates a poetic quality within himself. Poetry is not frivolous or detached from reality. Rather, poetry is a reality – an art. PVK is a poet.
Why mention the achievements and hallmarks of PVK through historical novels and a series of brilliant writings, only to then assert that Khai is a poet? Is being a poet more prestigious in this era of "domestic chaos," where fakes and impostors brazenly self-proclaim themselves and offer blatant, shameless praise?
Yes, it's true, because poetry is the lifeblood and intellect of language, a mirror of each nation's culture. Poets have been respected since ancient times, as thinkers, speakers, even prophets and predictors. Despite the chaotic mix of styles, discerning readers can still distinguish between a true poet and mere poetry, the essence of poetry. PVK, I recognized you as a poet when I read your collection of poems, "Sen," written in 2014 after a trip to Dong Thap. Your writing is diverse because you have a wealth of life experience and abundant ideas. You write so much, so vigorously, and so interestingly because you live a wonderful life with the soul of a poet. You're sociable, have many friends, manage affairs, attend classes, attend meetings—a constant stream of social gatherings—so when do you have the time to write with such sustained energy?
With his poetic nature, Khai is romantic in his precision and dedication to his work; that is, he only thinks about beauty, selflessly and wholeheartedly. Khai writes poetry describing nature immediately before and after battles; his concise, rhyming poems begin the chapters of his novels. Khai writes well thanks to his adventurous spirit and his ability to live poetically. This is the golden key that allows Khai to unleash a " Harvest Season Welcoming Fifty, Understanding Heaven's Mandate."
To find the answer to how PVK (Khai) uses his time for writing, I started with our anniversary of joining the Vietnam Writers Association at the end of 2007 at the International Conference Center, 11 Le Hong Phong Street. Having joined at the same time, and after 15 years as a member of the nation's most prestigious professional association, I found myself completely inferior to Khai. Even when I was young, energetic, and at my most creative, I couldn't match Khai's writing prowess. Anyone who argues "less is more" is being unfair. A great author, one of great stature, cannot have few books, few pages, and a small number of personal publications. I joined the literary scene in September 1995, while Khai had poetry since 1993 – when he was 20 years old. A poet of considerable stature, on par with a great literary figure like V. Hugo of France. Even an outstanding playwright like W. Shakespeare has classic sonnets that are considered exemplary, innovative works that remain significant today in the use of words and expression in the English language.
PVK chose the title "Harvest Season" for his 30th anniversary poetry exhibition. "Harvest Season" evokes images of fields, plowing, planting, harvesting, sun and rain, hardship, worries, and joys. In agriculture, " Harvest Season" isn't just limited to rice, crops, or fruit. It opens up a broader rural space, encompassing the Northern Delta region that Khai is familiar with, and the rice-farming civilization of the Red River Delta.
Even though PVK built his fortune from nothing and is as dynamic as he is, he still retains a deep sense of "countryside." In his hometown of Văn Lâm, Khai and Thu's parents are still healthy. Their house remains on the same land as before, and in their 80s, they enjoy the company of their grandchildren. Khai's family lives in Minh Khai village, and Thu's in Lạc Hồng commune, both in the same district. Both are the third of four or five children in their families; both fathers were war veterans from the war against America, and their mothers were cooperative officials. In Như Quỳnh's hometown, the daughter shares her father's name, and her private company, Sơn Quỳnh, is named after the two children, with his wife Minh Thu often supporting them, "going all in" to print tens of thousands of books as gifts, without regard for profit. That hometown is characterized by kindness and generosity towards everyone, near and far, a genuine, simple, humble, and unassuming nature; spirited without arrogance; and down-to-earth yet dreamy.
The harvest season is a fertile, multi-cropping field, with the most lush and thriving being the six-eight syllable and eight-syllable raised beds. Khai's poetry is not new in technique or language, but its strength lies in imagery and emotion.
The great scientist, one of the greatest minds of the 20th century, A. Einstein, summarized it as: "The power of intellect lies in the capacity for imagination." Poet PVK possesses that power. From images, materials, and realistic details, he expands spatial dimensions and explores deeper layers to create profound and resonant poems. Khai's journalistic work is quite "decadent," and thankfully, he has escaped the common ailment of many journalists who write poetry: little poetry, but rather abridged news, full of the scent of current events. Khai doesn't "journalize" poetic material and events; he knows how to listen to select the swirling vortex. This vortex is the "blur-layering" technique in filmmaking, creating a dense accumulation – a compression of space and time. That is, Khai's poetry is not flat, flattened, or copied like journalistic work. Khai has "montaged" words/images into poems that are also films. This is a high standard that modern world poetry always uses as a basis for evaluation: abundant imagery, evocative power, and haunting effect in rhythmic speed, counteracting stagnation and sluggishness.
Eighty pages of poetry, 40 works, provide a complete picture of PVK's poetic soul. Starting from the inspiration of the Red River , where he lives in Long Bien district and drives his black Camry daily along the alluvial banks of the Nhi Ha River – the Cai River. Khai loves the 1013-year-old city from the bullet marks on its city gates, the reed fields, and the red alluvial soil. Khai builds upon his feelings when writing about the heroic figures of poetry; his poems about Nguyen Trai and Nguyen Binh Khiem are a testament to his talent in creating poetic portraits. He demonstrates a smooth approach when developing the theme of war, from family stories to even embodying the role of a teacher whose parents were martyrs in the war against America. His family has borne the burden of war for over 50 years. His two uncles – martyrs Phung Huy (1951) and Phung Huu (1953) – died in Phu Yen in 1971, and only recently were the remains of Uncle Huy found. Khai doesn't think in a flat, monotonous way, but rather in a complex manner. The romantic lotus night at Go Thap (p. 39) still brings to mind Commander Vo Duy Duong and Commander Nguyen Tan Kieu. The six poems about lotuses demonstrate that Khai was a thoughtful polymath.
Throughout his poetry, the "hero of the Lang River" is deeply attached to the ancients, his ancestors, and history. Khai also reveals his sentimentality when writing about Hoang Cam, entrusting his personal feelings to him: " The sky is as vast as the earth / Rain gradually turns the grass green / Life is as narrow as the earth / Surrounded by storms and waves ." Khai's outwardly casual demeanor is merely superficial; he connects space and creates a transcendental quality by bringing "Fairy Tales" (Betel and Areca) to the shallow riverbank. I often tease him: PVK doesn't know anyone besides his wife, at 23 he's already a father without many relationships; but reading his poetry reveals that he's quite a ladies' man. "Hoa Binh" (p. 70) is an example, and the "Lotus" collection of poems is full of romantic sentiment. At the end of the collection, the author "concludes" by flattering his wife with "Poem for My Wife ," honoring her in order to be "forever" with his virtuous and "superhuman" wife, only then can he satisfy his multi-talented, adventurous husband. The most restrained expression of affection is "Waiting" (p. 51). Most interesting is the way PVK satirizes himself, even better than the six-line poem "Harvest Season - Self-Portrait" (pp. 84-85), which is "Poem about Mother" (pp. 56-57). Written as a gift to his mother, Khai is a foolish son examining himself: " I'm almost fifty / naive, mistaken / deceived by money, love, fame, and fate / only loving clouds, grass, moon, flowers, butterflies, temples, pagodas / only associating with poets / Twenty years drunk, always speaking loudly ..."
A truly drunk person stubbornly refuses to be drunk. As for Khai, if he's drunk, it's intoxication from poetry and words. The kind of drunkenness that Anh experiences for 25 hours is rarely seen.
I rotated the 24 letters through 24 hours, just as I had experienced the poetic New Year's Eve moment with PVK.
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