The award ceremony (Photo: VNA)The awards were presented on January 14 at theVietnam Literature Museum.
The seven award-winning works included: a shortstory collection Lan Gio Chay Qua (Breeze Flowing By) by LeMinh Khue; a novel, Mua Do (Red Rain) by Chu Lai; an anthologyof poems entitled To Quoc Nhin Tu Bien (Homeland From the Sea)by Nguyen Viet Chien; and another entitled Vu Khuc Tay (TayDances) written in Vietnamese and the Tay ethnic minority language by poet YPhuong.
The other award winners were non-fictionworks: Giot Nuoc Trong La Sen (Water Droplet in Lotus Leaf) byKhuat Binh Nguyen and Nu Quyen Luan O Phap và Tieu Thuyet Nu Viet Nam DuongDai (Women’s Rights Discussion in France and Contemporary VietnameseFemale Novelists) by Tran Huyen Sam; and Nguyen Chi Hoan’s translation ofHilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall.
A total of 174 literary works were nominated forthe award this year, including 66 poems, 78 works of prose, 19 reviews and 11translations. The winning works provided different perspectives on contemporaryissues in the country.
The creativity of award winners has contributedto the diversity of modern Vietnamese literature, said poet and vice chairmanof the Vietnam Literature Association Nguyen Quang Thieu.
While Nguyen Viet Chien’s poems were themedaround the seas and islands in the country, Y Phuong focused on traditionalculture in a modern world, he said.
Le Minh Khue’s work conveyed humane messages whileChu Lai wrote of war in his poems. Both works both touched on contemporaryproblems in the country. The works of the two poets, Y Phuong and Nguyen VietChien, covered different themes in different styles and deserved the award,said Chairman of the Vietnam Literature Association, poet Huu Thinh.
Khue’s work Breeze Flowing By was“perfect.” offering a fresh perspective to her work and of history, Thinh said.
The novel Red Rain by Chu Lailooks back at the war fought in Quang Tri province through the eyes of asoldier in the post-war period. Therefore, the work relates the truths, butdoes not re-evaluate the war and, instead, demonstrates the price of war, apartfrom bringing together soldiers of both sides, said Thieu.
He also said that this year, an award was givenfor the first time for a purely critical work, discussing the expression ofwomen’s rights in Vietnam’s contemporary novels. This is one of the few worksthat focuses entirely on women’s rights, he added.
The jury highly valued the translation of WolfHall by Nguyen Chi Hoan. The novel suggests a new way of writing inthe historical novel genre and presents interesting facts in world history, aswell as the culture and customs of Europe during the Medieval period.
All of these aspects were well-expressed in theVietnamese language by Hoan, said Thieu.
The Vietnam Literature Association also admitted29 new members, including writers, poets and translators from across Vietnamand abroad. The authors admitted this year are those who have proven theirtalent and commitment through notable works, said poet Tran Dang Khoa, the association’svice chairman.-VNA
