Four Vietnamese writers received the Mekong River literary prize at the annual gathering of writers’ associations from Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam.

Poet Trinh Thanh Phong.

The event opens in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from today until next Tuesday.

This year the prize went to writer Nguyen Tri Huan for his work Dong Song Cua Xo Net, writer and poet Anh Ngoc for his epic Truong Ca Song Mekong Bon Mat (Four-Faced Mekong River), poet Trinh Thanh Phong for his novel Canh Dong Chum (The Field of Jars) and Pham Sy Sau for his poetry collection Gui Ban Be Lam Xong Nghia Vu (Sending to Friends Who Finished the Mission), Chia Tay Cua Rung (Saying Goodbye to the Forest’s Gate) and Diem Danh Dong Doi (Calling Teammates’ Names) – a story about volunteers for the Vietnamese army volunteers who fought in Cambodia.

The Mekong River literary prize is organised by the Mekong River Literary Fund from an initiative by the Viet Nam Writers Association. The fund was founded in 2007 by writers associations in Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia to nurture literary talents and encourage new literature that imbues the friendship between the three countries.

According to Dao Kim Hoa, of the Viet Nam Writers Association, this is the second time Vietnamese writers have taken the limelight at the awards ceremony. Last year five Vietnamese writers got the prize.

Sau’s poems describe one man’s emotional journey as he fought on Cambodian battlefields in the late 70s and early 80s. The author was among many young Vietnamese volunteer soldiers who helped liberate Cambodia from Pol Pot’s murderous regime in 1979.

Anh Ngoc clinched the prize with his epic Song Mekong Bon Mat. Ngoc was also present on Cambodian battlefields. He was sent to the country three times during the war.

“I was one of the reporters sent by the Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People’s Army) newspaper to Cambodia after we heard the news on the national television that Vietnamese and Cambodian soldiers had launched joint counterattacks against the Khmer Rouge and liberated Phnom Penh on January 7, 1979,” he says.

“I had my Practika camera with me and took many photos. I started writing my book soon after I came home.”

The work took him two years to finish, from 1979 to 1981, was first published in 1988.

VietNamNet/VNS