Remember, when the first poems "sent from the South" by 3 poets were in extremely difficult circumstances, among those first 3 poets, there was Van Cong.
In 1963, when I was studying at Chu Van An High School in Hanoi , our group of students welcomed a delegation of the National Liberation Front from the South to visit the school. The whole Chu Van An school was excited because of this extremely touching welcome. In that delegation, there was poet Thanh Hai, representing the literature and art of the liberation of the South. The three names Thanh Hai, Van Cong, Giang Nam have since been deeply ingrained in the memory of our group of students.
The war dragged on, and when it was time for us students to join the army and fight on the southern battlefield, we knew how difficult and dangerous the battlefield was.
Poet Van Cong (1926 - 2021)
PHOTO: DOCUMENTS of Nghe An Newspaper
It was not until after peace , in 1987, that I had the opportunity to meet poet Van Cong. That year, in response to the "renovation" movement, the Central region's literature and arts organized a conference with the theme "Literature and Innovation" in Nha Trang. I was invited to attend, and on this occasion I took my whole family to visit Nha Trang.
At the conference, I met poet Van Cong, who was then a leader of Phu Khanh province. Poet Van Cong attended the conference, and he was very sympathetic to me when he heard me read the paper "How is poetry renewed?".
After the conference, my family and poet Nguyen Thuy Kha wanted to go to Da Lat to visit poet Bui Minh Quoc, who was then the Chairman of the Lam Dong Literature and Arts Association. I wanted to go but transportation was difficult at that time, so I met Van Cong and asked if he could help us with a car to go to Da Lat. I was very happy because poet Van Cong immediately agreed and had a car take us to Da Lat.
Only by meeting and asking for help can we know how simple and generous a person poet Van Cong is. Our trip to Da Lat was very enjoyable, and I am grateful to poet Van Cong for his help.
Deserves to be posthumously awarded the State Prize for Literature and Arts
More than once, writer Nguyen Chi Trung - my "boss" at the Military Zone 5 Writing Camp - told me about the early period of the resistance war against the French on both sides of the Ca Pass. Poet Tran Mai Ninh and writer Nguyen Chi Trung were on the other side of the Ca Pass, while poet Van Cong and poet Huu Loan were on this side of the Ca Pass. From the battles on both sides of the Ca Pass, poet Tran Mai Ninh had the poem Immortal Blood Remembrance , and poet Huu Loan had the famous poem Deo Ca :
"Under the tree
by the poisonous stream
Precarious watchtower
like frontier
Beard hair
broad shoulder
Unrecognized
villagers
Harvest day
gibbon
Night watch
met a wandering tiger..."
Generations of poets have always been continued, patriotic poetry from the resistance war against France to the resistance war against America has gone a long way, but patriotism and love for the people have become an unchanging constant. The honor of poet Van Cong is that he participated in two resistance wars from the very first days. Van Cong, Tran Mai Ninh, Huu Loan were present in the army marching to the South; and Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa were the battlefields where they directly fought.
Compared to the resistance war against the French, which was arduous but full of romantic spirit, the first 5 years (1955 - 1960) of the resistance war against the US were much more bitter. And poet Van Cong participated in that first fierce period. From then on, he struggled to write poetry. And his poetry reached the North during the "Truong Son" journey when there was no Highway 559 yet.
In 1965, for the first time, the Nguyen Dinh Chieu Literature Award of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam was presented to 54 writers and poets who participated in the resistance war in the South. Among those awarded was poet Van Cong.
In 1958, poet Van Cong wrote the poem The Communist , one of the outstanding poems translated into French and published in Paris in 1968:
"Communists must fall from the sky
Or grow from the ground?
No! No!
Also black head red blood
From suffering they rose up"
Now, when we re-read that poem, we must personally participate in the period of "Law 10/59" when the guillotine was carried throughout the South, to truly understand each verse as if it were written in the blood of the poet Van Cong. We also cannot forget the poem Beloved Tuy Hoa , which won first prize in the Thong Nhat Newspaper, collected in the poetry collection Southern Songs , published in 1960 and quoted in the Southern revolutionary literature textbook of the Faculty of Literature - Hanoi University of General Sciences and Hanoi Pedagogical University:
"We wade through the smoke and fire
Oh Cham Tower! Clouds and wind are wild.
The rice ears are broken, Dong Cam is flowing with milk.
The slanted wall frowns at the enemy...
Tuy Hoa! Tomorrow will come.
The dust clears, birds and butterflies fly freely
Nhan Tower Peak, moonlight in electric light
The Da River mouth sails here..."
When writing about his hometown Tuy Hoa, Phu Yen, Van Cong's poems are full of beautiful images, sparkling with love and aspiration for the day of peace and unification.
Returning to the "three poets" Van Cong - Thanh Hai - Giang Nam, poets Thanh Hai and Giang Nam have received the State Prize for Literature and Arts, only poet Van Cong has not. I think it is not, not not. I hope the Vietnam Writers Association will soon resolve this issue, so that poet - communist Van Cong can be posthumously awarded the State Prize that he truly deserves.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nha-tho-nguoi-cong-san-van-cong-185250410162345724.htm
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