At the launch of her new book on September 24 in Ho Chi Minh City, the 95-year-old female writer shared many interesting stories about the book and her writing process. Surprisingly, writer Xuan Phuong was once rejected by a famous book publisher because “memoirs are hard to sell” but she was still confident that “they did not understand her book”.
Director and writer Xuan Phuong next to a painting by artist Pham Thanh Tam.
According to writer Bich Ngan, President of the Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association, "Kich di...kich den" opens up for readers a clear view of the journey of bringing paintings and Vietnamese culture to the world - in addition to the extraordinary intelligence, talent and courage of writer, director and art collector Xuan Phuong, there are also dangerous twists and turns and beautiful colors of aspiration, love, happiness and pain of human fate.
The memoir, which is over 200 pages long, tells the story of the author’s early days of establishing the famous Lotus Gallery in Ho Chi Minh City in 1991, along with his trips to bring his paintings abroad – from Asia to Europe and America to organize exhibitions. There were many glories and resounding successes from those trips, but also many hardships, bitterness, and laughter and tears…
After 30 years of contributing to creating the mark of Vietnamese paintings in the world, bringing the names of many Vietnamese artists to new heights, writer Xuan Phuong transferred the gallery. In the endless regret for the brainchild he had nurtured for so many years, the writer wrote Khac Di… Khac Den (Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House) with the thought that instead of being sad, he should write down all the unforgettable stories to help himself share and feel better.
Writer Xuan Phuong has contributed to bringing the names of many Vietnamese artists to new heights.
The work was written by her in 20 days – an incredible amount of time for a writer over 90 to complete a memoir that was warmly received by readers with suppressed emotions and experiences reliving on the pages. Not to mention the fact that she revised it 8 times before the book reached readers.
Writer Minh Phong commented that the stories were told by the female author in an engaging way with a gentle, profound, warm and humorous writing style. In particular, the book also has many vivid illustrations.
“When reading Khac Di… Khac Den, the strongest impression is still the image of a woman with extraordinary determination and a ‘discerning eye’ when seeing the hidden values in the paintings of some young, yet-to-be-famous artists. From there, she encouraged and supported them to step into the light of the artistic horizon,” writer Minh Phong expressed.
A memorable story is about the paintings in the exhibition of artist Truong Dinh Hao. When no one bought the paintings, the artist sat down and dozed off, making people mistake him for a security guard, but Ms. Xuan Phuong was attracted by those paintings: “I was really surprised by a strange style, strong, decisive brush strokes, contrasting or graceful colors blending together on the background of Do paper, Diec paper and especially on old, crumpled newspapers. Veined hands twisted together, bare feet imprinted strongly on the road, a wandering figure in the night, houses deep in the deserted alleys... creating a feeling of bewilderment before human fate. On the dark black paper, staring eyes were both bewildered and angry: Why? Why?”.
Almost immediately, without bargaining, she bought 32 of the 72 paintings hanging on the steps, simply because she did not have enough money to buy them all. After that, she followed the artist couple back to her hometown in Bac Giang to buy more of their paintings. When she brought the paintings back to Ho Chi Minh City to open a solo exhibition, she invited some artist friends to see them first. The response was more criticism than praise. Many people discouraged her: "This man's paintings are very picky about buyers. The paintings are difficult to understand and will certainly be difficult to sell!"
But with her artistic intuition and determination, in August 1992 she still organized the exhibition and invited Truong Dinh Hao and his wife to attend the opening. As a result, 34 paintings were sold on the opening night. From this "launching pad" and the art exhibitions abroad organized by Ms. Xuan Phuong, Truong Dinh Hao became a famous artist.
The story about the paintings of Colonel and artist Pham Thanh Tam - who tells war stories through paintings - is also very special. "That time, Mr. Tam came to see me and said: My family has a big event that requires money, I want to sell the paintings to Phuong, you can buy as much as you want."
Previously, painter Pham Thanh Tam and writer Xuan Phuong had known each other on the battlefield. The writer understood better than anyone: “The paintings were drawn during the days when life was close to death, while drawing they had to hide in the bunker to avoid bullets, waiting for planes to fly over to come up to draw without a single trembling hand. The paintings are not only souvenirs, valuable assets of Mr. Tam but also valuable assets of history, he must have been very poor to have the heart to sell them”. Writer Xuan Phuong told his friend: “Mr. Tam, your paintings are very valuable, and I cannot buy them. Therefore, no matter how much money you need to take care of your house, I will help and you can give me, give me the paintings”…
Painter Pham Minh Tam gave writer Xuan Phuong more than 300 paintings out of more than 1,000 he had. At that time, no one bought paintings about the war like her.
In "Khack Di...Khack Come" there are many more humane stories like that, making readers admire Ms. Xuan Phuong's extremely sensitive and delicate ability to judge the art of painting as well as her open and precious heart towards talents.
Besides, there are unforgettable memories for the author himself. Behind the smile, success is always lurking thorns, cleverly disguised traps and moments of shock and despair: The painting studio burned down twice, moved 7 times, was cheated out of money from painting sales and many other untold hardships. The experience of staying in a two-story wasp-bed motel, with a shared bathroom in Singapore; the surprise when a Belgian who seemed kind took care of every meal and then billed her 3,200 Euros. Or the story of her dropping her passport on a flight from Paris to Rome, believing the flight attendant that she would find it right away, being treated badly, luckily thanks to the support of the diplomatic agency and everyone...
According to poet Bui Phan Thao, in Khac Di… Khac Den, there are many unbelievable stories that happened. The most powerful are the lessons about love, aspiration and faith: Always cherish the values of life, know how to sacrifice and accept; Adapt to any social environment, overcome losses without complaining, change careers without regret as she did (quit her high-paying medical job to become a war reporter) and commit to hardship, even sacrificing her life; Choose to live for people and for life, give without asking for anything in return...
Representatives of the Union of Literature and Arts Associations of Ho Chi Minh City and the Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association presented flowers from the Secretary of the City Party Committee to congratulate writer Xuan Phuong on her book launch.
The artistic journey of writer Xuan Phuong with enthusiasm once again affirms: Nothing is sooner or later. The problem is talent, will, determination, luck, opportunity and being able to seize it. "Don't be discouraged by difficulties, don't limit yourself", she said. That is the reason why writer Xuan Phuong did not accept her fate as a parking attendant that the neighborhood favored, but confidently "started a business" by opening an art gallery when she was over 60 years old. Until now, at the age of 95, she recounts that journey in a book that is not only readable but also extremely deeply inspiring.
Writer Xuan Phuong was born in 1929, from Thua Thien - Hue, and is currently a member of the Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association. At the age of 95, female director - writer Xuan Phuong has just released the memoir Khac di... Khac den . Previously in 2020, her book Ganh Ganh... Gong Gong won the Literature Award of the Vietnam Writers Association and the Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association Award. In addition to the books, nearly 10 films directed by her have won prestigious awards and have been shown domestically and internationally.
The life of writer Xuan Phuong is an example of a life of dedication and devotion to noble values. The Legion of Honor awarded by the French Government in 2011 and the honors that society has given her in recent times are proof.
Vietnamnet.vn
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/khac-di-khac-den-va-cau-chuyen-ve-nu-nha-van-ra-mat-sach-o-tuoi-95-2325471.html
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