Evaluating the 2023 annual award system and the 2023 Young Author Award, poet Nguyen Binh Phuong, Vice President of the Vietnam Writers Association, said that the number of works participating in the annual award has basically remained stable, with a fairly even distribution in the two genres of poetry and prose, and criticism has decreased slightly compared to previous years. However, the significant and thought-provoking decrease in quantity is in the Young Author Award category. Although it is determined that literary creation is not a steady cycle, but on the contrary, there are ups and downs, the Executive Committee still needs to thoroughly research, analyze, and evaluate this decline.
The 2023 Award, through the works and through the selection of the council rounds as well as the approval of the Executive Committee, in general, emerges a characteristic, which is courage. The courage of the creator and the courage of the selection council.
Poet Binh Phuong, Vice President of the Vietnam Writers Association, evaluates the 2023 annual award system and the 2023 Young Author Award.
"The works awarded this year show the open and courageous viewpoint of the Executive Committee. This is specifically shown in the categories. With poetry, awarding Dong Sen Tan Nguyen Phuc Loc Thanh is first of all to acknowledge the quality of a collection of poems with many unique poems that reach the level of divineness. Besides, it is also to honor the achievements of an author who is reaching maturity in all aspects, both in terms of philosophy and performance techniques. More deeply, awarding Dong Sen Tan is also to acknowledge the courage of a poet who is not shaken in his creativity in the face of challenges in a traditional genre that has already reached the pinnacle of achievements," poet Nguyen Binh Phuong emphasized.
In the prose category, the awarding of three works at the same time, two novels, "Absolutely no trace" by Nguyen Viet Ha, "From hour six to hour nine" by Nguyen Mot, and the short story collection "A summer under the shade of a tree" by Nguyen Tham Thien Ke, with three different styles, even three different artistic concepts, shows the liberal spirit of the Organizing Committee in perceiving and accepting all artistic trends and styles.
Looking specifically at each work, readers will see that, with the writer's ability, each author brings a distinct mark in his or her creations. Nguyen Viet Ha's Absolute No Trace shows the ability of someone who has a firm grasp of technique, daring to take big steps towards mixing genres to find a formula of his or her own, both in terms of reflecting human issues in contemporary society and artistic aesthetics.
In particular, the short story "From the sixth hour to the ninth hour" by writer Nguyen Mot shows courage through an independent, objective perspective on issues that have been assumed, thereby reflecting on the resilient existence, also full of luck, of individuals in unpredictable and dangerous historical periods and situations. "A summer under the shade of a tree" by Nguyen Tham Thien Ke is courageous in breaking the sentence structure and renewing the language in his own way while still creating empathy with the reader.
Looking back, in general, we see: The choice to award all 3 works at the same time also shows the courage of the Executive Committee, because this move, whether we want it or not, partly gives literature lovers the opportunity to associate and compare with the prose award event in 1991, 33 years ago. The category of critical theory, awarded to Literary autonomy and the mission of freedom is to award professional courage, with the nature of a deep, solid, methodical monograph, free from the feeling of an impromptu product or a product gathered from scattered articles.
In the Children's Literature category, the winning work demonstrated the writer's bravery, boldly and courageously entering a previously unfamiliar territory with a long story. The work "Cá linh đi học" by Lê Quang Trạng received goodwill throughout the preliminary round to the final round, convincingly proving that when a work reaches a certain quality, it will also reach a high consensus.
Chairman of the Vietnam Writers Association Nguyen Quang Thieu (middle) and guests presented awards to the authors.
In addition to the accuracy, even fullness, of some categories, this year's award system still has some gaps. Leaving the award for translated literature in 2023 blank, in the eyes and evaluations of many, is quite regrettable, because it does not accurately reflect the rich breadth of quantity as well as the depth of translation quality of the year.
However, it must be noted that behind each blank category there is a reason, a viewpoint of the council at all levels and that needs to be shared and respected. In the Young Author Award, awarded to "Double Life: Living Two Lives", once again reaffirmed the viewpoint of the Board of Directors on prioritizing the exploration and experimentation of young writers. In the case of Duc Anh, through this work, it can be affirmed early that this is an author with courage and awareness to find his own unique path, which is extremely important in artistic creation.
In general, when approving the results, it also means that the Executive Committee agrees with the council levels, and that also means that the awards given basically reflect the reality of the quality of compositions in 2023.
Also at the award ceremony, writer Nguyen Mot shared: "My novel, the novel "Absolutely no trace" by Nguyen Viet Ha, the story collection "A summer under the shade of a tree" by Nguyen Tham Thien Ke, the children's story "Cá linh đi học" by Le Quang Trang, the poetry collection "Đồng sen tan" by Nguyen Phuc Loc Thanh, "Literary autonomy and the mission of freedom" by Phung Ngoc Kien and Doan Anh Duong that you awarded this year may not be the best books of Vietnamese literature in 2023. Because most of the choices are only relative.
But we believe that the choice of the Councils and the Executive Committee is to recognize the voice of the hearts, the humanistic eyes and the “Mood of Life” in our above-mentioned works. We writers all know that the function of literature is not only to reflect the reality of life but also to reflect the mood of life as the philosopher Krishnamurti said in his work “The First and Last Freedom”: “We must rediscover values on a more sustainable foundation by understanding the mood of life”.
Scene of the awards ceremony this morning.
"Receiving this award, we feel extremely proud but also full of responsibility. We will continue to strive to write meaningful stories that contain the mood of life in the era we are living in to serve as a bridge between people, making the world closer and more loving. I believe that, through each page of the book, people can understand each other better, sympathize and share with each other more" - Writer Nguyen Mot emphasized.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the award ceremony, poet Nguyen Quang Thieu - Chairman of the Vietnam Writers' Association emphasized: "The authors who won the 2023 award have brought to the literary life a new spirit, a new path, helping to look back at the past. This year's award is given to writers and poets with great courage. Fully converging from courage to identity. Without courage, writers and poets have no identity. Beside the walls of the past, they cannot overcome their habits and creativity. They bring special things to the award. The Vietnam Writers' Association Award is the knight who rescues the danger of Vietnamese literature".
Vietnam Writers Association Literary Award 2023 Prose: From the Sixth Hour to the Ninth Hour, a novel by writer Nguyen Mot The work Absolute No Trace, novel by writer Nguyen Viet Ha A Summer Under the Trees, a collection of short stories by writer Nguyen Tham Thien Ke Verse: The work "Dong Sen Thach", a collection of poems by poet Nguyen Phuc Loc Thanh Critical reasoning: The work Literary autonomy and the mission of freedom by two authors Phung Ngoc Kien and Doan Anh Duong Children's literature: The work Linh fish goes to school, story by writer Le Quang Trang Vietnam Writers Association Young Author Award 2023 The work Living Two Lives, a novel by author Duc Anh Impressive Women Writers Award 2023 Writer Le Thi Kim – Ho Chi Minh City Writer Tran Thi Truong – Hanoi Award for the literary creation campaign on children's topics (phase 1, 2021 - 2023) A. First Prize: 01 work Cats are not born to catch mice by Duong Thi Thao Nguyen (Prose - manuscript). B. Second Prize: 02 works Chestnut, let's go home by author Nguyen Thi Cam Ha (Ha Mi) (Prose - manuscript). Taking Mom Out (Riddle Mom, Cricket Learns to Write) by Mai Quyen (Poetry - Book) C. Third Prize: 05 works Eyes of the Sky by author Dao Quoc Vinh (Prose - book). The Fire Fox by author Pham Thanh Thuy (Prose - manuscript) Catching sadness by author Nguyen Thi Nhu Hien (Prose - manuscript) The River Grows as It Goes by Nguyen Minh Khiem (Poetry - manuscript) The Storytelling Kitchen by author Dinh Cong Thuy (Poetry - manuscript) D. Encouragement prize: 07 works Cu Sang – The Ghost Tree by author Nguyen Xuan Lai (Prose – book) The Kapok Tree Carrying the Sun by Nguyen Thu Hang (Prose - book) Good Night by Nguyen Phong Viet (Poetry - book) The Sun Heals from Illness by Dang Toan (Poetry - manuscript) Earth's coat, sky's coat by author Pham Quynh Nhu (Poetry - manuscript) Who is the richest by author Hong Chien (Prose - manuscript) Kindness Remains by author Phan Duc Nam (Prose - manuscript) |
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