Literature Association announces ’07 awards

The Viet Nam Literature Association (VLA) has given top awards to a Vietnamese translation of poems by American child poet Mattie Stepanek and a novel by an overseas Vietnamese.

Stepanek’s collection of 300 poems, titled Heartsongs, portrays the young boy’s feelings about the pain and love of life. Originally published in the US in 2001, the collection was translated as Khuc Hat Trai Tim by Huu Viet who is himself a poet and working for Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper in Ha Noi.

Vietnamese-German Doan Minh Phuong’s award-winning novel Va Khi Tro Bui (And When This Dust) portrays a cultural obsession with the cultural estrangement of a generation of overseas Vietnamese. It is her first novel to be released in Viet Nam.

Born in HCM City but resident in Germany since she was 20 years old, Phuong is also author of short stories Toi Loi Hon Nhien (Naive Sin) and Mua O Kiep Sau (Rain in Afterlife). She also wrote scripts for films such as Nguyen Tieu (The First Moon Festival) and Hat Mua Roi Bao Lau (How Long A Rain Will Run).

The VLA Award is an annual event to honour outstanding pieces of literature published in Viet Nam.

Source: VNS