From war memories to today's writings

From August 1st to 15th, the People's Army Publishing House organized the 2025 Literary Writing Camp with the theme "Armed Forces and Revolutionary War" in Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa), bringing together 15 writers and poets from all three regions of the country. This activity serves as a way to inspire and encourage more literary works on the theme of revolutionary war.

Several works on the theme of revolutionary war, published by Tre Publishing House, have been reprinted many times.

The flow continues through generations.

Fifty years have passed since the country's reunification, and the guns have fallen silent, yet the theme of revolutionary war remains a powerful current, inviting generations of writers to continuously create and produce valuable literary works. Especially recently, alongside the main genres, literature about revolutionary war has been supplemented by a series of memoirs and autobiographies from many authors, including generals or soldiers who returned from the wars. Examples include "To Live and Tell" (Tran Luan Tin), "In R - A Story Told After 50 Years" (Le Van Thao), "Soldier's Memoirs" (Vu Cong Chien), "That Season of War" (Doan Tuan), "Land of K" (Bui Quang Lam), "Stories of Soldiers in the Southwest" (Trung Sy), "The Dry Forest in the Season of Changing Leaves" (Nguyen Vu Dien), "The Echo of Khau Chia Hill" (Nguyen Thai Long)...

Among these, many works have been honored with prestigious awards and commendations. In addition, many literary works and memoirs about the revolutionary war published by Tre Publishing House, such as "The Cards Are Stacked Against You" (Nguyen Truong Thien Ly), "Myself and Them" (Nguyen Binh Phuong), "Tank Soldier's Diary - Journey to the Independence Palace" (Nguyen Khac Nguyet), "Lucky Spies" (Nguyen Van Tau)... have been reprinted numerous times. This demonstrates the weight of non-fiction works written by those directly involved; it also shows that reading and understanding national history is an indispensable need.

Prior to the "Armed Forces and Revolutionary War" literary writing camp organized by the People's Army Publishing House, the Army Literature and Arts Magazine recently concluded its writing camp "Literature on the Theme of Revolutionary War and Soldiers" in Da Lat ( Lam Dong province ) in June of this year. The camp was attended by 15 authors from provinces and cities across the country; the majority of participants were young people from the 80s and 90s generations. At the end of the camp, the organizers received 15 short stories, 15 poetry collections, and 15 essays on literary criticism.

According to writer Nguyen Binh Phuong, Editor-in-Chief of the Military Arts and Literature Magazine and Vice President of the Vietnam Writers Association, many young people who did not experience war still write with a tendency to explore human nature in the context of war. “This means that literature about revolutionary war is not just about recording reality or presenting the author's direct experiences, but has become a universal theme for writers to create, to dissect, analyze, and explore human nature through that context. Therefore, revolutionary war and soldiers are always important themes for Vietnamese literature,” writer Nguyen Binh Phuong expressed.

“Writers create works driven by their own intrinsic needs; however, the key issue that needs attention is promotion. The reality is that works on revolutionary war themes often face more disadvantages in terms of perspective and approach compared to other themes, while their educational and enduring value is immense,” expressed writer Nguyen Binh Phuong, Editor-in-Chief of the Military Arts and Literature Magazine and Vice President of the Vietnam Writers Association.

Young writers should be confident and bold.

The continuation of the literary tradition about the revolutionary war also comes from the participation of young writers. Alongside established writers of the previous generation, there is now the enthusiastic participation of young writers such as Nguyen Thi Kim Hoa, Le Vu Truong Giang, Cao Nguyet Nguyen, Huynh Trong Khang, Le Khai Viet… Thanks to this, literature about the revolutionary war is constantly enriched, creating a rich and diverse range of content and writing styles.

A scene from the film Red Rain, adapted from the novel of the same name by writer Chu Lai, about the battle at Quang Tri Citadel.

A member of the 9X generation (born in the 1990s), young writer Le Quang Trang is a prominent author in the Mekong Delta today. Along with his vivid portrayals of the people and the waterways of the Southwest, he has also made his mark with works on the theme of revolutionary war. With his collection of short stories, "Smoke from the Border," about the Southwest border war, Le Quang Trang recently received the B prize in the Ministry of National Defense's award for creative writing and promotion of literary, artistic, and journalistic works on the theme of the armed forces and revolutionary war for the period 2020-2025.

“As a young person who didn't experience war and is now enjoying the fruits of peace, when I look back at the past, I'm always curious and ask myself many questions. The deeper I delve into it, the more answers I find for myself, and I realize that behind those answers lies boundless gratitude for the sacrifices of our ancestors. It is from this curiosity, this desire to understand and find my own explanation, that I wrote about the revolutionary war,” shared writer Le Quang Trang.

In reality, many young authors aspire to write about the revolutionary war; however, the barrier of their lack of real-life experience makes them hesitant. Writer Nguyen Binh Phuong argues that, for literature and creative writing to be considered, it's not necessary to achieve the accuracy of factual information; what matters most is the writer's perspective. If we demand factual accuracy from future generations, it will become mere memoirs rather than literary creations.

From there, writer Nguyen Binh Phuong stated: "In my opinion, young people should confidently pick up their pens, but they shouldn't change the essence of what they're writing about. For example, the just nature of our nation's wars of national defense shouldn't be distorted. The context and details are the fertile ground for a writer's creativity. After all, war is also a context for people to express themselves. Young people should be bold and confident in their writing, without worrying about whether it's real or not, accurate or inaccurate."

HO SON

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/tu-ky-uc-chien-war-den-trang-viet-hom-nay-post805630.html