War, Literature and the Desire for Peace

There are writers who lived and fought during the most intense years of war, and there are authors who in peacetime are passionate about searching for and writing about historical witnesses.

Poet Nguyen Duy and his collection of poems, more than 400 pages long, a collection of famous poems about human fate during wartime and post-war - Photo: H.LAM

As a typical poet during the anti-American war to save the country, poet Nguyen Duy composed many famous works about comradeship and human fate during and after the war such as Looking from afar... Fatherland!, Moonlight, Stop, Tears and Smiles, Morning after the war...

On April 30, he also organized a program of reading and performing poetry across Vietnam to celebrate the 50th anniversary of national reunification.

Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association Tram Huong is a writer associated with the theme of revolutionary war and documentary novels in contemporary Vietnamese literature with the titles of Sleepless Saigon Night, Story of 1968, Legendary Road 1C, In the Tornado...

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day September 2, the authors share with Tuoi Tre their thoughts on literature, war and peace .

Aspiration for national reconciliation

In 1965, young man Nguyen Duy was a militia squad leader on duty in the Ham Rong bridge area ( Thanh Hoa ) - a fierce target of US air force attacks.

In 1966, becoming a signal soldier of the Signal Command, Nguyen Duy and his comrades built and protected communication lines across Truong Son, ensuring information transmission from the General Command to the Khe Sanh - Ta Con front.

Nguyen Duy said he also participated in fighting in many large areas such as the Route 9 - Khe Sanh campaign (1968), the Route 9 - Southern Laos campaign (1971), the Quang Tri Citadel battle (1972), the Southwestern border war (1978) and the Northern border war (1979) as a communications soldier and frontline reporter.

During the years of fighting, Nguyen Duy wrote poetry and prose. In 1973, he won first prize in the poetry contest of the weekly Van Nghe newspaper with a collection of poems in the collection Cat Trang, including the poem Vietnamese Bamboo which was included in the 4th grade textbook.

Writing poetry during wartime, Nguyen Duy wanted to focus on the countryside, the desire for peace and humanity: "I think no one born into this world wants to go to the battlefield. Because of the times, it has to be like that. What helped me get through the war was my belief in peace. I believe that one day the country will be peaceful, and my people will no longer suffer.

I don't want the poems I write to be filled with blood and bones; I hope there will still be a humane voice, a desire to live and national harmony. I am a farmer living among bombs and bullets, so I just hope the war will end soon so I can continue to plow the fields, see the country, Vietnamese Bamboo, and the Moon in peace .

Many generations of students also do not forget the Moonlight lesson in the 9th grade textbook with the message about the "moon of love" that Nguyen Duy confided: "That is the love of comrades, it exists forever when the war has ended. Because in times of suffering, they loved each other like soul mates, blood relatives".

Post-war aftershocks

After 40 years of writing, writer Tram Huong is still moved and haunted by the pages written about war and revolution. Having worked at the Southern Women's Museum, she had the opportunity to come into contact with many historical artifacts and documents. Tram Huong's job is to read documents and explain them to visitors.

"One day in the deserted museum, looking through the narrow glass frames with a few brief biographies of the heroic martyrs, I suddenly had the desire to go to the lands associated with their lives, to touch the real documents because behind those names and achievements, they also have their own families, loves and aspirations," she said.

While writing the book, Tram Huong also understood more about the post-war aftershocks that those soldiers had to go through: "Most of the people who came out of the war had difficult lives.

When writing the book Legendary Route 1C: The Shoulders of Girls , I had the opportunity to talk to many female youth volunteers. Many of them carried Agent Orange in their bodies, and their children were also affected when they gave birth.

Then there were those who lost their papers and were not entitled to post-war benefits, and were homeless and had to collect scrap metal to make a living." Through her experiences, Tram Huong knew that writing about war was a way for her to repay her debt of gratitude to those who made the history of the country, and that was also the responsibility of a writer.

Literature becomes a fulcrum for them to move towards the precious values ​​of peace.

Lots of "land" for war themes

Writer Tram Huong (right cover) meets historical witnesses of the Ship Without Number in Quang Ngai - Photo: NVCC

Commenting on the vitality of the war theme in contemporary Vietnamese literature, writer Tram Huong affirmed:

"The topic of war is always hot and full of life, because it is associated with people. During war there is loss and bloodshed; after war there are other struggles - to build a family, maintain happiness, overcome the aftershocks of the past. All are closely related to each other.

I think the younger generation of writers, with richer sources of data and more access, will look at the war with a more objective eye. Therefore, I believe that this topic will continue to be exploited, with new perspectives."

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Lam Lake

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chien-tranh-van-chuong-va-khat-vong-hoa-binh-20250828230156074.htm