Le Anh Xuan - Poet of the revolutionary era

Before commemorating writer-martyr Le Anh Xuan (aka Ca Le Hien), the author of this article would like to make a small statistic to give a telling number: among nearly 1,000 Vietnamese writers today (the criteria for writers is members of the Vietnam Writers Association), up to 1/10 were former students or teachers of the former Hanoi University of Science, now Hanoi National University. In particular, writer Chu Cam Phong (1941-1971), graduated from the Faculty of Literature in 1964, became a reporter for the Vietnam News Agency at the Quang - Da front during the years of fighting the US to save the country; heroically sacrificed on the battlefield in 1971. In April 2010, writer-martyr Chu Cam Phong was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Armed Forces by the President. On May 12, 2011, the Vietnam Writers Association held a ceremony to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the death of writer-martyr-hero Chu Cam Phong on the battlefield and organized a basic reprinting of all of his works. Knowing this makes us proud of the tradition of Hanoi University, a Vietnamese university brand. Le Anh Xuan is one of the Vietnamese writers of the revolutionary period who grew up at the beloved Hanoi University.Poet Le Anh Xuan (June 5, 1940 - May 21, 1968) was born Ca Le Hien in Ben Tre town, in a patriotic intellectual family, the second son of a teacher and literary researcher Ca Van Thinh. At the age of 12, he studied and worked as an intern in the war zone, at Trinh Dinh Trong printing house (under the Southern Department of Education). In 1954, Ca Le Hien gathered in the North with his family, finished high school at the Southern Student School (Hai Phong) and Nguyen Trai School (Hanoi). At university level, Ca Le Hien studied at the Faculty of History, Hanoi University (course 3, 1959-1963). After graduating from university, Ca Le Hien was retained by the school as a lecturer, then in the plan to train long-term human resources for the higher education sector, he was sent abroad to study postgraduate studies. At the end of 1964, when the flames of war had spread throughout the country, Ca Le Hien, like many young people at that time, "put down his pen and followed the army". Ca Le Hien's wish was fulfilled, he returned to his homeland, to the battlefield in the South, worked at the Education Subcommittee, and then transferred to the Liberation Literature and Arts Association. During nearly four years in the battlefield, which we still call the front line, Ca Le Hien - Le Anh Xuan truly lived, fought and wrote as a true soldier, a true artist. The love for the people and the revolutionary ideal, the attachment to the homeland with great, sincere and intense feelings that had been deeply rooted since childhood, now arose more and more strongly and deeply. The main inspiration in Le Anh Xuan's poetry is the love for the homeland, the love for the people who have been hardworking and brave for generations. More than anyone else, the poet understands the source of his people, as the Hungarian poet Sando Petophius skillfully expressed: “Plowing with one hand/ sword with one hand/ The people’s lives are full of bitterness/ Blood keeps flowing and sweat keeps flowing.” A great artist always belongs first and foremost to his people. The literary career of Ca Le Hien - Le Anh Xuan does not have the massive volume of works, nor the “eye-catching” aspect like today in the market mechanism and commercial nature, so literature is also considered a commodity. The poet’s works are pure and virgin throughout time. It is an art that is selfless and not for profit; it is poetry that rises from a throbbing heart, beating in rhythm with the heartbeat of the people (as the poet Xuan Dieu expressed: “I am of the same flesh and blood as the people/ Sweating and crying together”). Le Anh Xuan’s works consist of only:Crow(poetry, 1965)), There is no place like the South(Poetry, published together, 1968),Nguyen Van Troi(Epic, 1968),Coconut flower(Poetry, 1971),Poetry by Le Anh Xuan(Poetry Collection, 1981),Keep the land(Prose, 1968). Literary awards are not many compared to a special poetic talent like Le Anh Xuan: Second Prize in the Literature Magazine Poetry Contest in 1961 with the pen of Ca Le Hien (poemRemember the rain of my homeland); State Prize for Literature and Arts, Phase I, 2001.

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Le Anh Xuan's poetry, if it can be compared, is like the coconut flower that is typical of the poet's beloved homeland of the South. If this comparison is acceptable, that is, correct, then we invite you to re-read the collection of poems.Coconut flowerby Le Anh Xuan, a collection of poems, in our opinion, is the crystallization of a short but fiery, shining poetic life that reveals the literary talent of Ca Le Hien - Le Anh Xuan. Talent and personality, or in other words, thetalentand theheartThe artist Le Anh Xuan's character is inseparable, like two sides of a piece of paper. I read somewhere and remembered a profound idea: patriotism begins with each person's love for the most ordinary things, that is the small river flowing through our village, the small house hidden in the garden where we were born; the love of grandparents, parents, siblings, aunts and uncles... We should probably educate our children starting with such small, simple things. Returning to Le Anh Xuan's poetry to see where the poet directed his pen when he started his poetic career. In the poemBack to hometown(considered the first poem since the poet returned to his homeland as a poet-soldier), Le Anh Xuan trembled as he wrote “Oh, my homeland, green with coconut trees/ Who would have thought that today I would return... Here is the old road/ Where I used to walk in my dreams/ Creaking in someone's house, the sound of a hammock at noon/ Lullaby... I miss you so much/ Oh, the white and pink cotton flowers/ Like your pure and loyal heart”. Returning to his homeland, Ben Tre, covered with green coconut trees, the poet seemed to immerse himself in the green of his homeland, as if dissolving into the green and the sacred realm “When I grew up, I saw coconut trees in front of the gate/ Coconut trees lulled me to sleep in my childhood/ Every afternoon, I heard coconut trees rustling in the wind/ I asked my grandmother: 'When did coconut trees come into existence?'”. The poet was especially moved when he returned to his birthplace - Ben Tre. The poemAbout Ben Trewritten in a state of choking joy "Ben - Tre, we're back here/ How many nights I miss, how many days I long for/... Oh, the homeland of my childhood/ How far away, now we meet here/... I hold the land of my ancestors/ I hear the sacred red fire in my hand". Of course, returning to my homeland, it is a great homeland, but after that, I cannot help but visit the old garden (where there used to be the roof of my grandparents and parents). In the poemOld Garden, Le Anh Xuan suddenly felt a pang in his heart because "I returned to visit the old garden/ Fallen coconut trees were scattered/ During the day, I could not hear the sound of chickens/ At night, there was no fire/ Where was the star apple tree/ I planted when I was a child/ The durian row had broken/ Weeds grew green and dim". Visiting the old garden, the poet then seemed to be silent before the river flowing through his village, the river filled with childhood memories. The poemRiver of childhoodfull of memories, overflowing with feelings "The river of childhood/ Several bridges across/ Mother took me across/ In the middle of the flood season/ Immense". It can be said that Le Anh Xuan's poems written on the day he returned to his homeland after ten years away, are filled with memories of the past, so the poetry rises up and mixes with the fierce present, creating for his poems at the same time revealing the inherent lyrical qualities of poetry but also signaling another quality - that is the quality of chronicling life in the revolutionary and war era. These are poems whose titles themselves evoke thoughts and emotions about the stormy revolutionary era:Breaking the Moonlit Night, Meeting the Heroes, Come Home, Poem in White Shirt, There's Nowhere Like the South, To the North, Vietnam! Oh Vietnam!, The Old Guerrilla, The Bamboo Spike...

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I want to talk about “Vietnamese Posture” - the name of a poem and also a great and beautiful symbol in Le Anh Xuan’s poetry. Vietnamese Posture, it can be said in Le Anh Xuan’s poetry, starts from the mother’s posture in the poem.Red cotton. In this narrative poem, the image of a Southern mother with unending pain (within 10 years, the mother lost her two most beloved people - her husband and son - to the enemy). Then on the day of the Uprising, the mother's heart, although still bleeding, was comforted because the revolution was rising up, because the children not born to her - the liberation soldiers - had returned to shake the heavens and earth against the enemy "We put the hatch cover on and stood up/ The villains trembled and surrendered/ Oh mother! Do you see?/ The old revenge has been paid for my husband and my children". But on that historic Uprising day, the mother could not see anything anymore because her eyes had been blurred before. On that Uprising night, there was a mother "On the night of the Uprising, my old heart was so happy/ I beat the bamboo gong and hit my hand/ My eyes were blind but my heart was still drunk/ My hand ached but I couldn't remember, the long night also forgot". And in a battle, when mother volunteered to lead a platoon of liberation soldiers to find a way to fight the enemy, mother tried to distract the enemy to preserve her forces, mother heroically sacrificed "A burst of gunfire in the night / In the fire and bullets, mother's shadow shined brightly". On the journey of fighting with his pen, Le Anh Xuan seemed to devote a lot of his feelings to the liberation soldiers through the poems:Hello winners, Torchlight, I stand in the middle of Thap Muoi, and the most impressive is the poemVietnamese posture- The last poem Le Anh Xuan wrote before his death. Why did the poet pay attention to the posture of Vietnamese people in the era of revolution and war? Living in a peaceful time like now, living in the equally fierce competition of the market mechanism, people seem to only care aboutstand, because position is related to each person's immediate interests (it brings money, fame, benefits, power...). In times of revolution and war, on the contrary, the problemposturebecomes important and meaningful. In the poemHello winners!, Le Anh Xuan sketched the standing posture of the liberation army soldier "Now you stand up like Phu Dong / Step on the enemy's head and fly to the future". The whole poem and those verses, in any case, are still a highly artistic generalization of the character of the hero of the era. In terms of writing style, it is close to the way poet To Huu wrote at that time about the heroic Vietnamese liberation army soldier "Hooray for you, liberation army soldier / Salute you, the most beautiful man! / History kisses you, barefoot boy / Living uprightly, indomitably in the world / Like Thach Sanh of the twentieth century / With a slingshot, a spike, you also attack the American invaders / Without looking at yourself, you do not know, oh brave warrior! / The whole five continents, the truth is watching" (Spring Song 68). It is a symbolic style, close to myths and legends. I think, when future generations reread the poem,Vietnamese posture(written in March 1968) by poet - martyr Le Anh Xuan will help to understand one more aspect of this poem: was the poem written in the spirit of complete artistic fiction or was it inspired by real life and historical truth? As we know, in the General Offensive and Uprising in the spring of 1968, on the Saigon - Gia Dinh front, more specifically in the attacks on Tan Son Nhat airport, later there was still a story about a liberation soldier who died in an attacking position, this position made the enemy terrified and retreated; and it was also the sacrifice position while standing and shooting of the liberation soldier that created an opportunity for our army to proactively attack and regain the battle. If he were a painter, I think Le Anh Xuan would choose yellow, red and blue to complete his painting; but blue alone will make the most impression on the viewer because it is the color of the liberation army uniform. During the war, the green color of the military uniform became a symbol, inspiring To Huu to write the poemThe Blue Shirt“You dyed me again/ The shirt is green/ Because oh my love, war/ Does not accept the color of white/ I go out in the rain and sun/ Gun on my shoulder, on the road/ With the green color of victory/ Of the beloved South”. Le Anh Xuan is a poet with the qualities of a painter, so he has created for his poetry the uniqueness of “poetry with painting”. Let’s see the poet “paint” the portrait of the liberation soldier “He fell on the runway of Tan Son Nhat/ But he forced himself to stand up, leaning his gun on the helicopter’s body/ And he died while standing and shooting/ His blood sprayed in the rainbow of bullets”. As mentioned above, it was the soldier’s sacrificial posture that terrified the enemy, to the point that even though he had sacrificed himself, the enemy still thought he was still alive, looking straight at the enemy and ready to fire “Suddenly seeing you, the enemy panicked and asked to surrender/ Some fell at your feet to avoid the bullets/ Because you were dead, but your courage/ Still stood upright, firing and attacking”. That is the nameless hero. History has always been written mainly by unknown heroes. Surely we all know that in Dien Bien Phu city now, in the martyrs' cemeteries, 9/10 graves are of unknown soldiers. And in all the martyrs' cemeteries across the country, the situation is similar. The liberation soldier in Le Anh Xuan's poem is also an anonymous person of history "Not a single picture, not a single address line/ He left nothing for himself before leaving/ Only left the Vietnamese posture carved into the century/ He is a soldier of the Liberation Army". There are special moments, at which "giant" individuals in terms of intellectual stature or moral stature, talent stature will meet history. This is what poet To Huu wrote in the poemMark my words.(praising the hero-martyr Nguyen Van Troi) "There are moments that make history/There are deaths that become immortal/There are words that are better than any song/There are people who are born as truth". For Le Anh Xuan, the liberation soldier is synonymous with history, with the people, with the truth of the times "nothing is more precious than independence and freedom". The concluding verses of the poemVietnamese postureis a conclusion, higher than a summary "Your name has become the name of the country/Oh, liberation army!/From your standing posture on the Tan Son Nhat runway/The Fatherland flies up into the vast spring". This is the writing style of the legend that makes the poetic image become beyond its normal size, becomingthe sublimeCapitalism is considered a basic aesthetic category of art in an era of great historical changes.

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It should be said first when we gather here to commemorate the writer - martyr Le Anh Xuan, but to end my article, I think I want to dedicate all my feelings as a person from the poet's junior generation to thinking about his predecessor in the writing profession - that isspirit of commitmentof a man worthy of respect. As we know, Ca Le Hien - Le Anh Xuan entered the gate of the prestigious Hanoi University in 1959. Remember that the student class at that time was selected very carefully, if anyone was able to enter Hanoi University, that person was certainly talented. There is no need to hesitate when saying that Ca Le Hien was an excellent student because after graduating, he was retained at the school as a lecturer. During his time as a teaching assistant, Ca Le Hien had prepared for his future career and life. But each person's life often has unexpected turns. We know that at the end of 1964, the war situation had changed a lot: the US imperialists expanded the air war to the North since August 5, 1964; on a national scale, the war became increasingly fierce and arduous. In a favorable direction, Ca Le Hien will continue his academic path and in the future he will become a scientist with worthy contributions (because his father, educator and scientist Ca Van Thinh, has many contributions to the field of literary research, with many valuable research works), because he was chosen to study abroad. If he had followed this direction, Ca Le Hien could very well be a name in the field of historical science now. But it seems that everyone has a destiny, and destiny is determined by personality. I imagine that at that time, Ca Le Hien - Le Anh Xuan had many sleepless nights and struggled, thinking about: choosing to set foot on the bumpy path of science, with many thorns and challenges, or choosing the path of art which does not accept those who calculate gains and losses, because art has always been selfless and not self-serving. But it can be imagined as follows: Ca Le Hien, from the blood, is a person who likes to commit and is ready to commit. If To Huu in 1940, in the poemLast Will and Testamentwrote “Revolutionary life since I understood/ To commit oneself means to be imprisoned/ To have a sword at one’s neck, a gun at one’s ear/ To have only half a life left”. Likewise, in 1964, Ca Le Hien - Le Anh Xuan, certainly also told himself that making a revolution in his time through art was also a commitment, a participation that was no less arduous and sacrificial. He put on his backpack, said goodbye to his family, relatives, friends, school, teachers, and colleagues, and set off for the battlefield. But this departure, this journey was actually the most spectacular return in the short but fiery, brilliant life of Ca Le Hien - Le Anh Xuan. Returning to the homeland, fighting to liberate the homeland - what could be happier than that, and besides, is it true that anyone can have happiness in this world when they can live according to their own wishes, and always be themselves?! Perhaps Ca Le Hien - Le Anh Xuan lived passionately and happily in the last years of his life when he was free to devote himself and sacrifice himself for his ideals in life and career. The life and literary career of Ca Le Hien - Le Anh Xuan, if one could imagine, was a life of freedom.burn the heart into wisdom and burn wisdom into the heart. In the modern Vietnamese literature of the revolutionary and war period, we have witnessed great examples of dedication such as the writers-soldiers who fell in the resistance war against France and the US: Tran Dang (1921-1949), Tran Mai Ninh (1917-1947), Tham Tam (1917-1950), Hong Nguyen (1924-1954), Nam Cao (1917-1951), Duong Thi Xuan Quy (1941-1969), Chu Cam Phong (1941-1971), Ngo Kha (1937-1973), Nguyen Trong Dinh (1939-1968), Vu Dinh Van (1951-1972), Nguyen My (1935-1971)... These are great artists who lived, fought and created literature with a noble spirit of dedication./.

Hanoi, May, 2011