Proclamation of the Committee to Promote the Founding of the League of Independent Vietnamese Writers

BASAM | March 4th, 2014

After 1975, the end of a hundred-year history of war, our country was in need of a substantial cultural renaissance. Unluckily, this grave and urgent rebirth did not happen as expected. On the contrary, Vietnamese culture has evolved from bad to worse, and appears to be in danger of losing the most basic humanistic values. This shortcoming threatens the survival of our nation.

Vietnamese writers must admit that they are partly responsible for this state of affairs. Among literature’s many important functions is to awaken the conscience and to raise the morale of the nation. At this great turning point of history, Vietnamese literature is not realising its true role.

The weakness of Vietnamese literature is rooted in the indifference of its writers to their social responsibilities, their insensitivity concerning daily events, and, most importantly, their lack of independent thinking, which has also limited their creative capabilities.

In a society like ours, where basic freedoms have been severely limited, it is difficult for writers to speak clearly and forcefully about the conditions of life in society. This limitation blurs and confuses expression; ultimately, it extinguishes art entirely. The freedom to create and publish literary works is a life-or-death necessity, not only for writers as individuals but also for the health of Vietnamese literature. Without minimal rights to free expression, our literary lives will never be adequate.

Literary institutions ruled by bureaucracy and mendacity suffocate the literature they presume to support. They also suppress healthy communication between writers and their ability of offer mutual assistance, both in their private lives and their artistic production.

In response to this longstanding but urgent situation, we, the undersigned writers, resolve to organise a committee for the founding of an independent institution of Vietnamese writers, both inside and outside the country. To be called The League of Independent Vietnamese Writers, this new institution seeks to promote a true, humanistic, and democratic literature, modern and responsive to globalisation. As demanded by history, we must act as pioneers in the creation of a national cultural renaissance.

Activities of The League of Independent Vietnamese Writers will focus on following:

–          To improve solidarity and assistance among writers inside and outside the country;

–          To bring forth conditions for professional amelioration, to advance and promote individual creation, and to encourage innovation in creative writing as well as literary criticism and linguistic studies;

–          To defend all legitimate materialistic and spiritual interests of its members, especially the freedom to write and publish, as well as the promotions of easy and complete access to literature by the reading public.

–          The League of Independent Vietnamese Writers is an organisation belonging to civil society. Dedicated to professional solidarity, it is completely independent of any other organisations existing inside and outside the country.

The detailed statutes and programme of the League will be set up and made public in the process of establishing of the league. Our email is:nhavandoclap@gmail.com

Hà Nội, March 3rd, 2014

On behalf of the Promotion Committee

Nguyên Ngọc

The Committee to Promote

THE LEAGUE OF INDEPENDENT VIETNAMESE WRITERS

1. Nguyên Ngọc – writer (Chief of the Committee)
2. Bùi Chát – poet
3. Bùi Minh Quốc – poet
4. Bùi Ngọc Tấn – writer
5. Chân Phương – poet, translator (USA)
6. Châu Diên – writer, translator
7. Dạ Ngân – writer
8. Dư Thị Hoàn – poet
9. Dương Thuấn – poet
10. Dương Tường – poet, translator
11. Đặng Tiến – literary critic and researcher (France)
12. Đặng Văn Sinh – writer
13. Đoàn Lê – writer
14. Đoàn Thị Tảo – poet
15. Đỗ Lai Thúy – literary critic and researcher
16. Đỗ Trung Quân – poet
17. Giáng Vân – poet
18. Hà Sĩ Phu – writer
19. Hiền Phương – writer
20. Hoàng Dũng – linguist
21. Hoàng Hưng – poet, translator
22. Hoàng Minh Tường – writer
23. Lê Hoài Nguyên – poet
24. Lê Minh Hà – writer (Germany)
25. Lê Phú Khải – writer
26. Lưu Trọng Văn – writer
27. Mai Sơn – writer, translator
28. Mai Thái Lĩnh – philosophy and culture researcher
29. Nam Dao – writer (Canada)
30. Ngô Thị Kim Cúc – writer
31. Nguyễn Bá Chung – poet (USA)
32. Nguyễn Duy – poet
33. Nguyễn Đức Dương – linguist
34. Nguyễn Đức Tùng – poet, literary critic (Canada)
35. Nguyễn Huệ Chi – literature researcher
36. Nguyễn Quang Lập – writer
37. Nguyễn Quang Thân – writer
38. Nguyễn Quốc Thái – poet
39. Nguyễn Thị Hoàng Bắc – poet (USA)
40. Nguyễn Thị Thanh Bình – writer (USA)
41. Phạm Đình Trọng – writer
42. Phạm Nguyên Trường – translator
43. Phạm Vĩnh Cư – literature researcher, translator
44. Phạm Xuân Nguyên – literary critic and translator
45. Phan Đắc Lữ – poet
46. Phan Tấn Hải – writer (Hoa Kỳ)
47. Quốc Trọng – screenplay writer
48. Thùy Linh – writer
49. Tiêu Dao Bảo Cự – writer
50. Trang Hạ – writer, translator
51. Trần Đồng Minh – literature researcher
52. Trần Huy Quang – writer
53. Trần Kỳ Trung – writer
54. Trần Thùy Mai – writer
55. Trịnh Hoài Giang – poet
56. Trương Anh Thụy – writer (USA)
57. Võ Thị Hảo – writer
58. Vũ Biện Điền – writer (Japan)
59. Vũ Thế Khôi – literature researcher, translator
60. Vũ Thư Hiên – writer (France)
61. Ý Nhi – poet