Many young authors are not passionate enough and lonely enough to go the long way in literature.

On November 28, in Hanoi, the Department of Performing Arts (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) coordinated with the Young Writers' Committee (Vietnam Writers' Association) to organize a Workshop on Improving the Quality of Young Literary Creation in 2023 .

Speaking at the event, Mr. Tran Huong Duong - Deputy Director of the Department of Performing Arts (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) - said that the workshop was held with the aim of creating a forum for writers, scientists and researchers to clarify a number of issues on improving young creative capacity. Through the workshop, many opinions also proposed solutions to enhance the role of state agencies and specialized literary associations in creating the development of young literature.

"Currently, the quality of young people's works is affected by many different factors and trends. We really need to innovate in content, methods, and creative orientation.

However, the question is how far have we innovated, how to improve the quality of young writing so that it truly permeates young people, is accepted by the public and readers, and truly creates the foundation for forming values in our country's literature," Mr. Duong shared.

Nhiều tác giả trẻ chưa đủ đam mê và cô đơn để đi đường dài văn chương - 1 — Mr. Tran Huong Duong - Deputy Director of the Department of Performing Arts shared at the workshop (Photo: Organizing Committee).

Poet Tran Huu Viet - Head of the Young Writers Committee (Vietnam Writers Association) - said that in the Vietnam Writers Association, the percentage of young members in the Association (if calculated up to the age of 40) is only approximately 4%, and if calculated from the age of 35 and under, it is only about 1.7%, this is a low number and has been maintained for many years.

In which, the force of writing literary criticism theory and literary translation is low, mainly still composed of poetry and prose.

"Most young writers are well-equipped with knowledge and are passionate about writing. Some emerge as potential, but in many cases they suddenly stop writing and leave the literary world as easily as they arrived.

Through research, we found that the desire of young writers is to interact, exchange, and experience with fellow writers; to learn from previous generations, to be trained; to be regularly given the opportunity to go on field trips to penetrate life, to go to writing camps; to be supported in printing and publishing; to have their works introduced and promoted.

They also hope to have more suitable literary awards to be evaluated, recognized and given more energy and confidence to stick with the writing profession for a long time," said poet Tran Huu Viet.

Writer Bich Ngan - President of the Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association - also believes that improving the quality of young literary creation in Ho Chi Minh City through awards aims to encourage literary startups for university students, and arouse the passion for literature in the young generation.

"Young authors need to be able to create in an open, civilized space, in a cultural environment that respects creative personality and the desire for innovation, first of all, to innovate themselves, to surpass themselves through their works. Many young people give up writing halfway for many reasons, perhaps young authors are not passionate enough and lonely, not motivated enough to go the long way with literature," Ms. Ngan shared.

Nhiều tác giả trẻ chưa đủ đam mê và cô đơn để đi đường dài văn chương - 2 — Writer Bich Ngan - President of Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association - spoke at the event (Photo: Thanh Tu).

Ms. Ngan added that literary works must be seen as an important cultural channel to nurture the souls and qualities of Vietnamese people, present and future, and the main launching pad is today's young writers.

According to the Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association, there should be a reasonable budget for young literature, and the government should boldly place orders for young authors, especially for novels. Only when young authors are confident in their mission of sitting in front of the writing page can they fully develop their responsibilities as true writers.

Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Xuan Thach - Faculty of Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) - said that it is necessary to see the current generation of young writers as start-ups (people starting their careers), and what is most necessary for them is a start-up ecosystem.

"One of the most important factors in supporting writers' creativity is to help them have a solid foundation in philosophy, ideology, and social awareness. It is a continuous accumulation process and the best way to create that foundation is to promote dialogue and let learners draw their own conclusions.

In addition, besides the writing training model in professional schools, it is also necessary to encourage and train writing in multidisciplinary schools, and even need to be a model that exists in parallel with the traditional model," Mr. Pham Xuan Thach shared more.

Besides, he also emphasized the role of literary competitions and awards in discovering artistic ideas and individuals with creative ability; at the same time, there should be policies to support projects of young writers who are starting their artistic writing careers.

Young writer Hien Trang once attended the International Writing Program (IWP). She said that the event gave her wonderful experiences and endless inspiration for writing.

After the course, Hien Trang was inspired to write, had more courage to accept her true self and loved the writing profession she had chosen even more.

She also hopes that in Vietnam, in addition to professional training programs, young writers will be provided with conditions to have a healthy and comfortable atmosphere, helping them to develop their full potential to put their writing efforts into writing.

Lac Thanh - Thanh Tu

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