Dr. Le Nhat Ky: Fairy tales are not just for children...

(GLO)- From more than 60 stories by nearly 20 authors spanning nearly a century, the book series Modern Vietnamese Fairy Tales (including 3 volumes) has been systematized for the first time in a large-scale anthology, selected by Dr. Le Nhat Ky, published by Kim Dong Publishing House, and has just been introduced to readers nationwide.

Dr. Le Nhat Ky shares about the selection journey and his expectations for this book series.

* Sir! What opportunity made you propose to make a collection of Modern Vietnamese Fairy Tales?

Dr. Le Nhat Ky. Photo: NVCC

- In September 2023, when the delegation of Kim Dong Publishing House went to Quy Nhon to exchange with the Literature and Arts Association of Binh Dinh province (old) and students of Quy Nhon University, I suggested that the Publishing House should publish a separate anthology of modern Vietnamese fairy tales.

Previously, this genre was often printed together with short stories or fairy tales, making it difficult for readers to clearly visualize the appearance and progress of the genre. I believe that a large-scale, systematic book series will help identify the achievements of modern fairy tales, and at the same time contribute to educating children about reading culture.

Happily, that proposal was approved by Ms. Ngo Thi Phu Binh, Head of the Literary Books Editorial Board of Kim Dong Publishing House. From then on, I and the editor, poet Nguyen Thi Huong Ly, started to select and edit for nearly a year.

* Before this project, was there any similar anthology, sir?

- Previously, modern Vietnamese fairy tales appeared sporadically. Sometimes they were printed together in anthologies or printed separately by each author, helping readers to know a few writers, but did not show the flow and development of the genre through many generations.

I want to fill that gap with a more general work, which introduces relatively fully modern Vietnamese fairy tales in terms of: works, authors and development history.

* Can you share more about the process of selecting works for this book series?

- Actually, the number of works and authors selected for introduction is more. But through the editing process, due to many different reasons, there are some cases that are not used in the anthology. Particularly in Gia Lai , there are two authors whose works are in the collection: Pham Ho and Le Thi Kim Son.

The main target of the anthology is children, so the first criteria is that it is good and attractive. The stories need to be short, diverse in storytelling, rich in imagination, humanistic, and suitable for the psychology of the age group. For adults, the anthology also has its own value: recalling childhood, while helping them understand more about the poetic characteristics and history of the modern Vietnamese fairy tale genre.

* When bringing traditional fairy tale elements into modern life, are you afraid of losing the folk "soul"?

- In every modern fairy tale there are always two parallel elements: folk and modern. Folk elements are inherited to preserve the fairy tale color; modern elements are created by the writer to create new vitality for the story.

For example, Nguyen Huong in Eating plums and paying back gold still maintains the philosophy of “greed is evil” but changes the ending to be more humane than the folk tale The Starfruit Tree. Those adjustments do not destroy the spirit of the fairy tale but on the contrary, help the story become closer and more humane to children today.

Trilogy of Modern Vietnamese Fairy Tales. Photo: Kim Dong Publishing House

* In the stories you chose, are there any prominent trends, sir?

- Modern Vietnamese fairy tales are often influenced by two basic factors: the humanistic spirit of folk tales and the aesthetic education spirit of the new era. Writers both inherit tradition and find their own way to meet the fairy tale needs of children today.

Some people specialize in the legends of flowers and fruits like Pham Ho (The Story of Flowers and Fruits), some rewrite fairy tales in a critical spirit like Nguyen Huong (The Cat in High Heels), or rekindle childhood questions about the world of fairy tales like Nguyen Mai Dung (Untold Fairy Tales). It is this diversity that creates the rich appearance of modern fairy tales - where writers converse with children with familiar moral and human stories.

* So what will researchers, teachers and parents find in this book series?

- For researchers, the anthology is a source of materials to examine poetics and genre history, something that has been lacking until now. For teachers, especially at the primary level, the book is a good support for creative storytelling activities, helping students understand how to rewrite, change details, and create new endings for stories. For parents, this is an opportunity to read with their children, share, and foster their imagination and personality.

* Thank you for the chat!

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/tien-si-le-nhat-ky-co-tich-khong-chi-danh-cho-tre-em-post569420.html