Effect of interested readers – motivation for writer (Saigon Giai Phong newspaper 13-Sep-2010)

[Po_2008]

Effect of interested readers – motivation for writer

When the word “fans” is mentioned, lots of people immediately think of fans of singers or movie stars. In literature, rarely can we hear information about fans of writers. In reality, the link between writers, their works and readers is still strong although it is not as strong as it was …

No less crazy

In Vietnam, the writer that interests the most readers is perhaps none other than Nguyen Nhat Anh. At the sixth Ho Chi Minh City Book Fair at Le Van Tam Park in early 2010, a table was placed near the stall of Tre Publishing House for writers and readers to sit and chat.

On the third night of the event, some poets and writers including Nguyen Nhat Anh were there. A young reader recognized Nguyen Nhat Anh and came to ask him for his autograph. After talking with readers, the poets and writers began to chat with each other. Suddenly, the young reader reappeared with a big bag of mangoes and said in a low voice, “I saw you drink beer, so I bring this for you to eat while drinking”. Everyone, especially writer Nguyen Nhat Anh, were very pleased with the feeling of being cared by the young reader.

In Nguyen Nhat Anh’s apartment, gifts and souvenirs from interested readers take the biggest and most important part of his apartment. They are of different kinds like a ceramic wind bell with a good health wish written on it, notebooks full of emotions readers have about the writer’s works sent to the writer, jigsaw pictures of the writer, stuffed bears and rabbits, etc.

Also, some readers give him different kinds of food with a wish “eat well to stay healthy to write more”. Writer Nguyen Nhat Anh showed us a bag of peanut candy and said, “This is from a reader on Dinh Tien Hoang Street, who asks his mother to take him to my apartment and give me some candy every few days”.

His interested readers have even set up a fan club where they can talk about his books and about him. Additionally, there are countless forums about Nguyen Nhat Anh and his works on social Internet sites like Facebook or Twitter. They even have a website about Nguyen Nhat Anh where they have talks and chats and where the writer can share his experiences with his readers.


Young readers line up to wait to ask for writer Nguyen Nhat Anh’s autograph

A motivation for writing

Writer Nguyen Nhat Anh has been No. 1 writer of children stories for over 20 years. Of course, his readers are in a wide range of ages because those who were young 15-20 years ago have become parents now and they pass their interest in Nguyen Nhat Anh’s works onto their children.

It is not easy for Nguyen Nhat Anh to have all those readers interested in his books. He has made great efforts to give birth to those works of art. Such things can be seen in his books. When the computer began to be popular, the writer tactfully included it in his book called Buoi chieu Windows (Windows in the afternoon). When the readers began to be a bit fed up with the medium size books of his, he introduced Kinh Van Hoa (Kaleidoscope) – a set of volumes. When the trend of stories about magic entered Vietnam, Nguyen Nhat Anh introduced an interesting story called Chuyen xu Lang Biang (story about Lang Biang land).

Recently, the writer changed from the subject of love to works of new interesting features like Toi la Be-to (I am Beto), Cho moi xin mot ve di tuoi tho (Give me a ticket to childhood), Dao mong mo (Dreamy island). Though famous for children stories, Nguyen Nhat Anh has avoided the boring way of “writing children stories out of his own childhood experiences”. His children stories are very special. They always have pieces of updated information and carry the desires and wishes of the children of today.

The culture of reading is not only what to read or how to read something but it also indicates a writer-works-readers link. The writer’s great efforts give birth to great works of art, attracting a large number of readers, and creating an interest in books. The readers’ interest encourages more people to become writers. It is a pity that there are so few Vietnamese writers who can get readers to have great interest in books Vietnamese books now.

By Tuong Vy

(Saigon Giai Phong newspaper 13-Sep-2010)