Writer Tran Dan was posthumously awarded the State Prize in 2007 (Photo: tacphammoi.net)Hanoi (VNA) – The Republic of Korean Literary (KL) Management willintroduce and popularise the Vietnamese novel Nhung Nga Tu Va Nhung Cot Den(Crossroads and Lamposts) at the Book Fair Frankfurt in October, according toNha Nam Publishing House.
The novel was penned in 1966 by Tran Dan. It took decades, however, before thenovel was finally published in 2011. It won the Hanoi Writers’ AssociationAward for a novel that same year.
Nha Nam has been working to introduce the novel to international copyrightcompanies, including KL Management and Barbara J.Zitwer Agency in NewYork.
"Crossroads and Lamposts is an amazing and unique literary work,"said Joseph Lee, chairman of KL Management at a meeting with the late writer’sfamily. "Tran Dan is a great poet and novelist.”
Through the KL Management’s network, Nha Nam sent an English introduction and partof an English translation by Australian-born David Payne, to European andAmerican copyright companies.
KL Management and the Barbara J.Zitwer Agency listed Crossroads andLamposts among the outstanding literary works which they will introduce to publishersfrom all over the world at Book Fair Frankfurt.
Korean IWBooks Publishing House will publish the novel in the RoK at the end of2018.
"It is a rare phenomenon, but important for Vietnamese books to betranslated into foreign languages and published abroad, because this canpopularise Vietnamese culture and art," said Xuan Minh, a representativefrom Nha Nam publisher.
"It is also a good sign for the Vietnamese literary when a Koreanpublisher buys copyright for publishing. The novel meets market demand."
Born in the northern province of Nam Dinh, writer Dan was twenty years old whenhe joined the Vietnamese military in 1946. He returned to Hanoi following thevictory of the Dien Bien Phu battle.
He joined the Nhan Van - Giai Pham group, which included young writers, artistsand intellectuals pushing for freedom of art and expression.
His works were banned from the late 1950s until 1988 but he continued to writenovels and poems. Ten years after his death in 1997, he was posthumouslyawarded the State Prize for his contribution to literature.
Crossroads and Lamposts is widely considered a classic of Vietnamesecontemporary literature.-VNA
VNA
