Writer and translator Mai Son's real name is Nguyen Minh Son, born on September 10, 1956, and was a student at Tran Quoc Tuan School, Quang Ngai. Later, he followed his family to live in Phan Rang, Ninh Thuan.
In 1988, after completing his military service, he and his younger brother Nguyen Minh Tuan (Cao Tuan) returned to work in Binh Thuan. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the first two terms of the Binh Thuan Literature and Arts Association (term I: 1988-1993, term II: 1993-1998) with the positions of Chief of Office, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Binh Thuan Literature and Arts Magazine (Bien Xanh). Writer - translator Mai Son was a delegate to the 3rd Young Writers Conference - December 1985 organized by the Vietnam Writers Association. Transferred to Ho Chi Minh City, he participated in editing the Purple Ink and Red Scarf newspapers, a few years later he was invited to work in the Library Board of Hoa Sen University. During this time, his wife Phuong passed away from a serious illness. Overcoming his sadness, he focused on self-study, writing, translating and editing books and newspapers. He has published 12 books in various genres of prose, compilation, and translation, including: “101 Philosophers” by Tri Thuc Publishing House (2nd quarter, 2007), “Strange Objects on the Head” (collection of stories, 1997), “Fiction” (collection of stories, 2003), “The Universe in an Atom” (2008), “Philosophical Stories” (2005)…
Writer-translator Mai Son, together with writer Le Minh Khue, represented Vietnam at the first Asian-African Literature Festival (JAALFOC), held from November 7 to November 14, 2007 in Jeonju, South Korea. This festival aims to establish new relationships between writers, especially Asian and African writers, and to strengthen the voices of writers in the contemporary world. At the meeting of about 100 writers from the two continents, he successfully presented his paper “The Philosophical Dimension of Fictional Characters”.
Mai Son's writing is meticulous in every word, very suggestive, he often mentions social and humanistic issues of a highly general nature. Writer Le Minh Khue commented when reading the collection of fiction: "Mai Son does not directly describe the reality that we see every day such as dust, quarrels, disputes, vehicles and cases. The author relies on a few details, on the touches in the characters' personalities to develop rich literary ideas."
When he released the book “The Charm of Words” (including 5 parts: Reading Vietnamese Literature, Reading Foreign Literature, Reading and Discussing Philosophy, Interviews and Writing Short Stories), he was also highly appreciated by literary friends. Writer Nguyen Nhat Anh said: “Many of writer Mai Son’s articles have achieved the standard of the charm of words”.
After decades of knowing each other as close brothers, and listening to him confide many times, I can never forget his heartfelt words about his career: "When I leave this world, I hope I will only be a pure spiritual mass created by ideas." Regarding translation, his concept is also supported by many talented translators:
“No matter what translation you do, it's not just about trying to dry up the language... You have to read it first to immerse yourself in its atmosphere.”
During his years as Head of the Library Department of Hoa Sen University, writer-translator Mai Son enthusiastically organized a conference on “The Emperor and the Beauty”, the first translated book of my son - Nguyen Vu Hung. That was an important launch in Hung’s career; more than 50 writers and translators were present at that event. I learned that he was not only the one who had the merit of managing the compilation, translation and publishing of more than 100 publications of the prestigious Hoa Sen bookshelf, but he also had the merit of organizing many literary and philosophical events that caused great resonance.
On Christmas Eve, December 25, 2023, at midnight, writer - translator Mai Son breathed his last at his home at Dong Go intersection, Ap Moi 1, My Hanh Nam commune, Duc Hoa, Long An. The literary world of Phan Thiet and Saigon deeply mourned him, and social networks were immediately flooded with messages of condolences and condolences to the bereaved family. I was shocked and bewildered when I heard the bad news, and the sadness of separation filled my soul because he and I had been close and had loved each other for a long time; he was kind and loving to me, and my family was like relatives. From the very beginning (around 1994), when I first entered the literary world, he was the one who guided me, suggested what I should write and how to write, and I am grateful to him, an unconditionally devoted teacher. The affection lasted until later, when he was still living in the house on Tran Hung Dao Street, Phan Thiet, his wife Phuong often cooked for me, and when I had to go to Phan Thiet, I would stop by there to rest. His house was always full of literary friends, he was the one who gathered many literary and artistic people before and after 1975 in Phan Thiet town at that time. When his family moved to Saigon, I took my children to take the university entrance exam and stayed at his house, he took care of every meal, every place to rest and always gave necessary instructions.
In my decades of traveling in the literary world from North to South, I have never seen a writer as thoughtful and kind as him; with a very sad, very beautiful, very manly smile always on his lips, he lives a life of altruism and sincerely loves everyone. I respect him for his strong will, he taught himself English, taught himself philosophy to the point of becoming a famous translator, he taught himself to write and became a famous writer. But I respect him even more because he knows how to love the people around him, loves his friends unconditionally.
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