Tuoi Tre Sunday editorial office with collaborators

I worked as an editor for the weekly newspaper Tuoi Tre Sunday (now Tuoi Tre Weekend) for more than 20 years, starting in 1983 until near retirement...

With writer Nguyen Huy Thiep (left) at the Hanoi office in 1987

I have more or less contributed to the brand of a newspaper that once published tens of thousands of copies each week. That contribution is largely due to the efforts of the collaborators who have been with Tuoi Tre Sunday since its early days.

A week of driving a truck carrying printing paper to Hanoi to find collaborators

When I took on the job, I thought the newspaper needed a team of famous writers from many fields who would contribute to the editorial office to ensure the quality of content for each issue.

In those days, there were no representative offices of Tuoi Tre in the localities, including the office in the capital. In the South, it was easy to meet and discuss with many authors to order articles, but in the North, it was more difficult. So we had to "go North", as my friend Tran Chien said, recalling my trip to Hanoi that day.

During the free days before the Lunar New Year of 1985, taking advantage of a family meeting in my hometown Thanh Oai (at that time still in Ha Tay province), I combined my personal work with editorial work: looking for collaborators.

The trip was memorable because it was my first trip across Vietnam by road. Back then, buying a plane ticket was not easy, luckily an acquaintance let me "hitchhike" on a truck carrying printing paper to Hanoi. The truck took almost a week to reach the capital!

Thanks to meeting and becoming friends with a few colleagues and artists from Hanoi when they went to the South to work in the late 1970s (such as Thanh Chuong and Luong Xuan Doan), I was warmly introduced to famous people in many fields.

Boldly (and with a bit of professional curiosity), I sought out elders like To Hoai, Luong Xuan Nhi, Van Cao, Tran Dan, Le Dat, Hoang Cam, Bui Xuan Phai…, names I had read, known and loved when I was a student in Saigon before 1975.

Surprisingly, everyone was very happy and sincere to talk to a junior who was looking forward to receiving cooperation with the newspaper. As a result, writer To Hoai wrote many articles for Tuoi Tre Chu Nhat, writer Le Dat sent the short story "Hen Dai Nhan" (later used as the title of his collection of stories), poet - musician Van Cao sent poems, poet Hoang Cam did the same...

In those old days in Hanoi, there were places for me to stay overnight, of course not hotels (because the newspaper's expenses were very modest!). It was the uniquely designed house in Quynh alley of artist Thanh Chuong, where I was always welcomed as a family member.

And the first floor apartment in the collective housing area at 8 Trang Tien - the home of translator Nguyen Trung Duc, the first translation collaborator of Tuoi Tre Chu Nhat (he sent several stories translated from Spanish and a chapter of the novel The General in the Maze , which was quite long so the editorial board published it in two installments).

That apartment was a gathering place for the capital's literary and press circles; there I met and became acquainted with Duong Tuong, Thanh Thao, Pham Vinh Cu, Nguyen Thuy Kha...

Tuoi Tre Chu Nhat published an article about Duong Tuong's paintings. As for Thanh Thao, in addition to poetry, there was an article introducing poets from Quang Nam, essays and many other literary topics. As for Nguyen Thuy Kha, his manuscripts were always handwritten.

I will always remember a cold winter morning in Hanoi, I woke up when I heard the alarm clock. Mr. Nguyen Trung Duc was awake, helping me carry my luggage downstairs.

We left the apartment when it was still dark, passing through the streets still wet with night dew, quiet and cold, to the Vietnam Airlines office where I caught a car to Noi Bai airport. Trung Duc insisted on seeing me off even though at that time he was so happy to be buried in a warm cotton blanket!

Collaborators Nguyen Huy Thiep, Dang Nhat Minh

An unforgettable memory was meeting writer Nguyen Huy Thiep in 1987 and inviting him to collaborate. After Tuoi Tre Chu Nhat republished the short story The General Retired , I went to Hanoi to meet the author, visited him at his then-deserted house in Co village at the So intersection, and cycled with him to many places in Hanoi.

After that, Nguyen Huy Thiep sent to Tuoi Tre Chu Nhat some of his short stories and literary essays, the editorial board chose to publish "Flowing on the River", "Truong Chi", "The Sewers", "Songs" ... From then on, we became friends, meeting many times, sometimes in Hanoi, sometimes in Ho Chi Minh City.

A Hanoi author who has long collaborated with Tuoi Tre Chu Nhat is director Dang Nhat Minh. I met him after I had seen Bao gio cho den thang Muoi and Thi tra trong tanh tay , and conducted an interview about the current state of Vietnamese cinema at that time, published in Tuoi Tre Chu Nhat issue 48-1987 with the title "Achievements are still few and becoming fewer and fewer".

Interview with director Dang Nhat Minh

That "frank" and "truthful" interview resonated with public opinion. After Mr. Minh was elected General Secretary of the Vietnam Cinema Association, I had another conversation with him about the new job of a talented filmmaker.

Since then, Dang Nhat Minh has become a regular contributor to Tuoi Tre Chu Nhat. He writes in many genres: from reviews of new, somewhat thorny films such as The Wandering Circus by director Viet Linh to literary memoirs about characters related to Vietnam such as Madeleine Riffaud and Oliver Stone, including short stories ( Adult Stories - Tuoi Tre Chu Nhat No. 14-1991).

It can be said that, not only is he a collaborator who is always attached to the newspaper, Mr. Minh is also a close friend to me. I think Mr. Dang Nhat Minh can be considered a model of collaborator work for Tuoi Tre Chu Nhat.

Nguyen Duy's poetry in Tuoi Tre Sunday No. 25-1987

Old man of the South Son Nam and many other Southern favors

As for the collaborators in the South, I especially admire the veteran writers Vo Hong and Son Nam. Mr. Son Nam has time to write regularly for Tuoi Tre Chu Nhat , from stories about customs, worship and death anniversaries in the South, to places and lands such as Ben Tre , Cu Lao Pho, Ben Suc..., and then the cuisine of the Southern land reclamation period...

"The Old Man of the South" worked closely with Tuoi Tre Sunday when the editorial office organized a photo contest to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City (1998). During that time, he came to the editorial office every day to look at the photos submitted for the contest, help select photos for publication and write comments, then served as the head of the jury to select the best photo series to award.

With writer Son Nam at the editorial office (discussing the photo contest 300 years of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City)

During the years of collaborating with Tuoi Tre Chu Nhat, writer Vo Hong of Nha Trang sent dozens of short stories (all of which were selected for publication) and many articles imbued with compassion about fathers, mothers, teachers, filial piety, teacher-student relationships... such as A rose for father ( Tuoi Tre Chu Nhat No. 24-1990), Thinking about mother ( Tuoi Tre Chu Nhat No. 35-1990), Holding a piece of chalk ( Tuoi Tre Chu Nhat No. 45-1992); The third day of Tet is for teachers ( Tuoi Tre Xuan 1993).

Remember the beautifully handwritten letters he sent to the editorial office discussing topics and articles he wanted to write, only stopping when his health was like a dying oil lamp!

Teacher Tran Huu Ta is an enthusiastic contributor to Tuoi Tre Chu Nhat . He writes extensively and regularly about Southern urban literature, about writers such as Vu Trong Phung, Thanh Tinh, To Hoai, Nguyen Tuan, especially portraits of Southern writers such as Tham The Ha, To Nguyet Dinh, and many articles about education and enrollment - topics that he is always deeply interested in whenever he has the opportunity to discuss with the editorial board.

Among the famous writers who collaborated with Tuoi Tre Sunday newspaper, I have many good memories with Nguyen Khai.

In the 1980s and 1990s, I often met Nguyen Khai when he came to the editorial office to submit articles, usually short stories or memoirs. Later, the editorial office asked him to write reviews of works in Tuoi Tre Sunday and invited him to participate in selecting the best short stories of the year.

Article by Professor Tran Huu Ta in Tuoi Tre Sunday No. 42-1990

His comments and assessments are short, concise and profound, very enjoyable to read. For example, when reading the short story "Rain on the distant mountain peak" by Hoa Ngo Hanh ( Tuoi Tre Sunday issue 45-1998), he wrote "A short story that can be remembered for a long time" with the passage: "The words of today, concise, dazzling, shining directly into the reader's perception, are still rain, reeds, red banana flowers and leaves curled up in the rain. Surely these images will remain in me for a long time".

It would be impossible to mention all the contributions of many other contributors to Tuoi Tre Chu Nhat in terms of articles and compositions, such as those of authors Nguyen Quang Sang, Tran Huyen An, Nguyen Duy...; including the veteran Trang The Hy, although not a writer, he accepted to be the judge of the Tuoi Tre Chu Nhat short story and memoir contest in 1986.

Then came the talents of the next generation, typically Nguyen Ngoc Tu with her first short stories published in newspapers after winning first prize in the Literature Writing Contest for 20-year-olds (organized by Tuoi Tre newspaper and Tre Publishing House).

We also cannot forget the contributions of artists such as Nguyen Trung, Dinh Cuong, Luong Xuan Doan, Buu Chi to the art page of Tuoi Tre Chu Nhat during those years; along with the beautiful short story illustrations of Nguyen Trung, Nguyen Trong Khoi, Ca Le Thang, Hoang Tuong, Nguyen Thuyen... to create an artistic appearance for the newspaper.

In May 2025, on Dang Nhat Minh's birthday, I sent a congratulatory message on Zalo, and immediately received his reply: "Thank you, Chuc. I miss you with Tuoi Tre Sunday... unforgettable memories". For someone working in the editorial office, nothing makes me more touched!

NGUYEN TRONG CHUC

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/toa-soan-tuoi-tre-chu-nhat-voi-cong-tac-vien-2025072906334131.htm