Launching the art book “Kulong River in Fire and Smoke – Sketches and Poetry”

“The Fire and Smoke of the Mekong River – Sketches and Poems”, compiled by Sherry Buchanan and Nam Anandaroopa Nguyen, translated into Vietnamese by Phan Thanh Hao, includes sketches, watercolors, poems and letters by artists and soldiers created right in the middle of the battlefield during the resistance war against America.

The book preserves memories of wartime art. Photo: Kim Dong Publishing House

According to Kim Dong Publishing House, amidst fierce bombs and bullets, in the basements and in the barracks of the resistance war against the US to save the country, art classes of the Central Office for Southern Vietnam were opened in the old forests of Ca Mau, Tay Ninh, Dong Thap Muoi... The battlefield painters were present in the cultural soldiers' army supporting the battlefield in the South from the early days such as Huynh Phuong Dong, Le Lam, Nguyen Van Tru, Nguyen Thanh Chau...

They composed and recorded authentic images of the battlefield, the rear and the battlefield landscape of the South from Tay Ninh, Ben Tre to Ca Mau during the period 1964-1975.

Realistic and vivid sketches from the battlefield. Photo: Kim Dong Publishing House

Many stories about the lives of soldiers, children, mothers, mountains, tunnels, and villages were recorded amidst the fire and bullets, expressing love for the homeland, courage, and desire for peace.

American journalist and curator Sherry Buchanan has embarked on a journey to research, collect and introduce to the world Vietnamese war art works through the book "Cuu Long Giang Khoi Lua - Sketches and Poems".

Together with Nam Anandaroopa Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American art researcher, Sherry traveled throughout Vietnam for nearly two decades (1998-2015), interviewing dozens of war artists, collecting sketches, watercolors, and unpublished documents.

The book also introduces the works of poet Le Anh Xuan, a representative of resistance literature, such as the poem “Vietnam’s Posture”. The poems are interspersed with moving memoirs, diaries, and letters sent from the battlefield.

“Cuu Long Giang Khoi Lua – Sketches and Poems” is a valuable source of information that helps the younger generation better understand the resistance war from an emotional, humane, and visual perspective. This is a unique visual heritage, recreating through lines and colors a heroic chapter of Vietnamese history.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/ra-mat-sach-nghe-thuat-cuu-long-giang-khoi-lua-ki-hoa-va-tho-700329.html