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Tuesday - March 26, 2024 01:16
On March 25, 2024, the Faculty of Literature, Department of Literary Theory, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, in collaboration with the Women's Publishing House, organized a scientific seminar on "Street Stories - A Narrative about Contemporary Urbanism" to widely introduce this novel to readers and to create a multi-faceted academic voice when placing "Street Stories" within the flow of contemporary urban narrative.
The seminar attracted the participation of the leadership, lecturers, and staff of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, the Women's Publishing House, the Writers' Association, numerous veteran writers, researchers, and literary critics, as well as many students and young readers from various universities. Under the guidance of researcher Pham Xuan Nguyen, scholars including Prof. Dr. Tran Nho Thin, Assoc. Prof. Dr. La Khac Hoa, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Van Toan, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Thanh Hung, researcher Tran Hinh, researcher Bui Viet Thang, Prof. Dr. Tran Ngoc Vuong, Dr. Tran Ngoc Hieu, and many of his students from the Faculty of Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi Pedagogical University, etc., exchanged many interesting issues surrounding...Street Storiesand the poetics of Pham Quang Long's novels.
The workshop was held right in the lobby on the first floor of Building E, creating an extremely open, intimate, and unpretentious space, reflecting the personality and artistic style of writer Pham Quang Long.
Researcher Pham Xuan Nguyen led the professional discussion session of the seminar.
Pham Quang Long offers readers profound insights and unique philosophies of life about "villages" and "cities."
Readers have known Pham Quang Long as a writer deeply concerned with the issues of the world and the country in its movements and changes, passionately interested in stories of the countryside from the past to the present. More recently, we have come to know the novelist Pham Quang Long as he delves into and understands urban life, envisioning people and urban life through a special space – the old town, through stories about people he was already familiar with during his years at the University in "Stories of the Old Quarter". Author Pham Quang Long shared emotionally:"I write and look back at the generation of my teachers; they will forever be the most beautiful images in my life. Their intellect and character were immeasurable, and even in the most difficult times, I clung to them to live. I will live and work so as not to bring shame to the school where I studied, and not to cause my teachers any worry. Now I write to express my gratitude to my teachers, colleagues, and friends."
Author Pham Quang Long shared his thoughts at a panel discussion about his novel "Stories from the Street".
"Pham Quang Long's novels are all stories, ranging from tales of friendship to stories of the countryside, from philosophical reflections on life to stories of the city and current events. They are all narratives, stories that transcend the dry confines of written texts, transforming into heartfelt confessions and emotions, like stories from the depths of the heart, stories that cannot be left unexpressed and shared with friends and readers."
Street Stories, the latest novel by writer Pham Quang Long
Street StoriesRevolving around Mr. Mưu's family, "Street Stories" vividly portrays the life of a family of Hanoi "natives" in an evacuation area; especially after Mr. Mưu "relocated" to the city, the single father raising his children through two wars.
Mr. Mưu's attitude towards life – a genuine businessman, quietly and cautiously navigating the storms of the times, and the conflicts and clashes stemming from resentments and schemes among his children, which gradually fractured the foundation of the family's traditional culture… all of these elements create narrative knots and simultaneously give Phạm Quang Long's work a fresh and multifaceted perspective on "the Street" and "Hanoi." "Stories of the City" is essentially a story of life, or more accurately, a story about the urban society and culture of contemporary Hanoi, vividly recreated by the author through the turbulent lives of people from various regions far from Hanoi who come to the capital to make a living. However, the overarching atmosphere of the novel remains the bustling spirit of building and constructing society according to socialist principles, which, frankly speaking, is the pursuit of livelihood and personal happiness." "Each character in the novel has their own fate and their own anxieties. 'Street Stories' presents a mosaic of fragmented Hanoi streets. In it, author Pham Quang Long, through a dialogue-based writing style, places the characters in a state of frustration, with little action, mostly 'doing little, talking much,' so that the issues raised and discussed transform into 'stories.' Many stories do not unfold sequentially according to a chronological structure but are condensed and synthesized into a single issue with urgent significance, prompting the reader to reflect."
A humanistic worldview and a concern for preserving the essence of the nation's traditional culture.
Spanning 450 pages, the novel "Stories of the City" by writer Pham Quang Long has been praised by many critics as a "must-read" work, boasting a rich and unique world of characters and a profound humanistic perspective. While a social novel reflecting the pressing issues of the time, "Stories of the City" also carries a historical undertone, subtly hinting at the "traces of ancient carriages and the spirit of autumn grass" in the described old townhouses and the nuanced personalities of the characters, all rooted in the culture of Thang An (Hanoi).
In the "Afterword" to the novel, Associate Professor Dr. Pham Thanh Hung shared:"Stories of the City" is essentially a story of life, or more accurately, a story about the urban society and culture of contemporary Hanoi, vividly recreated by the author through the turbulent lives of people from various regions far from Hanoi who come to the capital to make a living. However, the overarching atmosphere of the novel remains the bustling spirit of building and constructing society according to socialist principles, which, frankly speaking, is the pursuit of livelihood and personal happiness."
Associate Professor Pham Thanh Hung shared his insights at the seminar.
Critic Pham Xuan Nguyen argues that "Stories of the City" is a narrative about contemporary urban life and also a narrative about contemporary culture. Author Pham Quang Long discusses cultural issues from the perspective of a villager to that of an intellectual living in the city, and even from the perspective of someone who has managed culture in the capital city of the country."From the heartbreak of a Vietnamese person facing the fading and decay of culture, most clearly manifested in the upper class, the author has a historical and contemporary perspective that permeates the work. He speaks of village matters as merely the village's territory, and city matters as merely the city's territory, but he has infused them with intertwined and complex issues. All of these are anxieties, pains, and to some extent, a literary contribution from Pham Quang Long to the current cultural revival.",
A literary work can only endure when it has a solid foundation in the hearts of its readers. "And the scientific seminar 'Street Stories - A Narrative about Contemporary Urban Life,' held today in a solemn and warm atmosphere right here at the school where Associate Professor Dr. Pham Quang Long has spent a long time and dedicated himself, is an opportunity for us to widely introduce this novel of his to readers. At the same time, it is also a space for academic exchange between scientists and readers about narratives of places, locations, and cultural spaces, experiential spaces, and memory spaces of Hanoi, thereby offering approaches to contemporary urban identity; and creating frames of reference to approach Street Stories in contemporary Vietnamese literature," emphasized Associate Professor Dr. Dao Thanh Truong.
Representatives from the Board of Directors of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities presented flowers to congratulate Associate Professor Dr. Pham Quang Long.
Associate Professor Pham Quang Long is an administrator, a researcher, a lecturer in the Department of Literary Theory, and also a writer and playwright. He was formerly the Party Secretary and Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, former Vice Director of Hanoi National University, and former Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism. During his time working and teaching at the Faculty of Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, he was admired by many generations of students through his outstanding lectures on literary theory. A well-read, observant, and thoughtful person, he wrote dozens of plays, many of which have been staged, such as: Cao Bá Quát, Nguyễn Công Trứ, The Debt to the Nation, Moments of Ho Chi Minh... Author Pham Quang Long started his writing career relatively late but possesses a prolific writing ability. From 2016 to the present, he has published six novels:Lost in the human world(Novel, 2016)Friends from the past(Novel, 2017)Chess game(Novel, 2018)Village stories(Novel, 2020)Rươi season(Novel, 2022)Street Stories(Novel, 2024). And each book is a profoundly insightful reflection, expressing a sincere and humane perspective on life and people, and conveying a unique philosophy of life.
Some images from the panel discussion can be viewed in the video:
