The only certainty in this life is
uncertainty
To the editorial staff
of Da Màu
And the friends of
Phùng Nguyễn
PHÙNG NGUYỄN’S BIOGRAPHY
Phùng Nguyễn’s given name is Nguyễn Đức Phùng. Born in 1950 at
Quảng Nam, he is the oldest child of a large family. After he finished
elementary school in his village, in 1961, Nguyễn Đức Phùng successfully passed
the admission test to the 6th grade at Trần Quý Cáp junior high
school in Hội An. Three
years later, he moved
to Saigon with his family.
There was a very
important period in his life that Phùng Nguyễn did not mention in his
biography. It was the time he served in
the ARVN / Army of the Republic of Vietam in 1968 at the age of eighteen. He was wounded in the war and discharged from
the military prior to 1975. In this author’s view, the years he was in uniform,
though brief, left a deep mark in his literary career.
The auto-biography Phùng Nguyễn wrote only
started in 1984, the year he set foot in the United States.
· Birth place: Quảng Nam, Việt Nam.
· Resettled in the United States in
May, 1984.
· Bachelor of Science in Business
Administration and Information Technology, summa cum laude, in 1990 and MBA in
1992 from California State University (Bakersfield, California).
· Have been working in the field of
Information Technology since 1990. Last position held: Director of Information
System (Jaco Oil Company, California).
· Numerous literary works and essays
published in magazines like Văn (USA), Văn Học (USA), Hợp Lưu (USA), Việt
(USA), Thế Kỷ 21 (USA) and websites like talawas.org, tienve.org, damau.org …
Phùng Nguyễn chose 1984, the year he arrived in America, as the
starting point for his auto-biography:
· Advocated, designed,
set up, and maintained the websites for the Văn Học, Văn, Hợp Lưu, and Việt
magazines from 1997 to 2002.
· Served as Editor of
the literary magazine Hợp Lưu (California, USA) from June, 2002 to April, 2003.
· Co-founder of the
on-line literary magazine Da Màu (July, 2006) with writer Đặng Thơ Thơ and poet
Đỗ Lê Anh Đào.
· Editor/writer and
technical supervisor for the Da Màu Magazine from 2006 to the present.
· Founder and
administrator of the Thư viện Kệ Sách eBook (kesach.org). Launched kesach.org
in May, 2008. As of this date, this organization has helped print and publish
free of charge over 150 works in Vietnamese in the ebook format through the ebook websites Scribd.com
and Smashwords.com
· In charge of the
Phùng Nguyễn’s Blog: “Rừng và Cây” with VOA (The Voice of America).
Published Works:
· Tháp Ký Ức,
collection of short stories. Publisher: Văn 1988 (California, USA)
· Đêm Oakland và Những
Truyện Khác, collection of short stories. Publisher: Văn 2001 (California, USA)
Works to be published in 2015:
· Collection of
selected short stories
· Essays Phùng Nguyễn
[end of quote]
*
Phùng
Nguyễn’s “Rừng & Cây” blog with
VOA reported on the noteworthy literary events in Vietnam and the world. It is also the forum for supportive writers
living in Vietnam and overseas.
Both the first article “Văn
đoàn độc lập Việt Nam: Sự kiện hay Cước chú?” (posted on 07-16-2015), and the last one “Mệnh Trời”(posted on 11-22-2015) that appeared on Phùng Nguyễn’s
blog were written by him. Regrettably, that last article also served as his
posthumous eulogy since he passed away 3 days before its publication. On this
occasion, VOA issued a moving caption
for Mệnh Trời:
"Author Phùng Nguyễn’s
funeral was held on Sunday, November 22nd. On this occasion, VOA
Tiếng Việt would like to introduce to our readers a memento of the
recently deceased writer as his “farewell” to his readers, friends and fans.
This is his last article in the blog. However, we trust that the ideals and
humanistic values he and his literary friends espoused as well as advocated in
his blog will forever remain alive no matter the dictates of Destiny.”
Photograph of Phùng Nguyễn on “Rừng
và Cây” Blog
[Source: VOA Tiếng Việt]
VOA released the following condolences on
author Phùng Nguyễn’s sudden passing:
"Author Phùng Nguyễn, the
administrator of the "Rừng & Cây" blog on VOA Tiếng Việt, had
unexpectedly passed away on November 17, 2015 in the state of Maryland, U.S.A..
Even though the time he worked with us was short, the well-researched,
outstanding and captivating articles on literature, art and related matters
contributed by Phùng Nguyễn and his selected circle of literary friends had
attracted the attention and earned the high esteem of a great number of readers
in Vietnam as well as overseas. His untimely death is an irreplaceable loss not
only to the literary circle but also to his adoring readers of his "Rừng
& Cây" blog. The Vietnamese Bureau/Ban Việt Ngữ sincerely shared in
this great loss of Author Phùng Nguyễn’s family. His valuable contribution to
VOA Tiếng Việt will be always appreciated."
The “Rừng
& Cây” blog only stayed in operation for exactly four months with 35
published articles in total - of which 16 came from Phùng Nguyễn. In addition,
prior to that time, he also wrote many outstanding
articles for Văn, Văn Học, Hợp Lưu, Việt, Thế Kỷ 21 magazines and online
newspapers like talawas.org, tienve.org, damau.org…
PORTRAIT OF PHÙNG NGUYỄN - THE SOLDIER
In his farewell article to Phùng Nguyễn,
author Trần Hoài Thư offered this sketch of Phùng Nguyễn’s portrait: "From Ô Thước to Talawas then Da Màu, Phùng Nguyễn was never absent from the
literary forums. In the old days, if Phùng Nguyễn carried a gun, nowadays he
brought along a laptop wherever he goes. I keep an eye on the movements of this
traveler and am overwhelmed with boundless admiration”.
Trần Hoài Thư wrote on: "Though Phùng
Nguyễn and I only met a couple of times, we feel close to each other as
companions on the road of literature and life. First, we both work in the IT
(Information Technology) field. Second, we wore the same uniforms prior to
1975. Third, we share the love for literature and writing.”
On Saturday,
November 21st, 2015, the funeral date of Phùng Nguyễn in Maryland, I
sent Trần Hoài Thư this email:
"Phùng Nguyễn rarely mentioned the time he served in the military.
As far as I know, he enlisted in the days following the Tet Offensive of 1968.
Then he was wounded and spent many months in convalescence at the military
hospital Tổng Y viện Cộng Hoà until the day of his discharge. Trần Hoài Thư, do
you have any additional information about Phùng Nguyễn the soldier? I am
writing an article about him."
Trần Hoài Thư responded that same night:
"Dear Ngô Thế Vinh, I don’t know. I
only read his biography. Try to do some more research. Phùng Nguyễn entered
military service at the age of 18 when he was still attending high school…”
I met Phùng
Nguyễn only recently. He looked a healthy young man - younger than his age,
well tanned with a square face, high forehead, moderate in his speech and
expression. One day, as we strolled together along the seashore of Huntington
Beach, I lagged behind because I was answering a phone call from Đinh Cường.
Phùng Nguyễn slowed down in order to wait for me and I suddenly noticed that
his gait was leaning a little bit to the right. My guess then was that he
suffered from polio, a common disease in Vietnam, but I just kept the thought
to myself. On another occasion, on the seaside of Laguna Beach, on account of
the hot day, Phùng Nguyễn wore a pair of shorts revealing not an atrophied
right leg but a characteristic scar left from surgery. To my inquiry, he only revealed,
in a few short words, that during an operation in the swamps, a man in his
platoon stepped on a land mine. Several soldiers in the unit were killed and he
was rather severely wounded. Two bones in his right leg were fractured and he
was transported to the military hospital Tổng Y viện Cộng Hoà for treatment and reconstructive surgery. His leg was put
in a cast but unfortunately the wound became infected and resistant to antibiotics.
Phùng Nguyễn underwent multiple surgeries and had bone and skin graft done. He
spent long months at the hospital suffering unbearable pain, so much so that at
one time, he begged the treating physician to amputate his leg to no avail. He
still remembered that the unfeeling and unresponsive doctor’s name was Thái. It
was that man, however, who spared him from becoming an amputee but he never had
the opportunity to meet his benefactor again.
Still looking for
additional information about the veteran Phùng Nguyễn, I emailed Khánh Trường,
called the “Sidewalk Artist in New York” by Mai Thảo. Khánh Trường founded and
managed Hợp Lưu Magazine for 12 years. After that, Phùng Nguyễn became its
editor in 2002. Khánh Trường was born in 1948 of the same generation as Phùng
Nguyễn who was two years his junior. Both of them saw life in Quảng Nam. Khánh
Trường served with the paratroopers and was wounded more than once before his
discharge. Apparently Khánh Trường should be more informed about Phùng Nguyễn’s
military background. However, I received this prompt reply from Khánh Trường: "I never heard Phùng Nguyễn utter a
word about his old days. It appeared that he served in the military, was
wounded at the leg. Now he does not walk normally but it takes close scrutiny
to notice his uneven gait… What a big surprise. After he attended
Võ Phiến’s funeral, Phùng Nguyễn dropped by my
place. Everything seemed normal. But then!"
Acting on poet Thành Tôn’s suggestion, I
contacted Trần Trung Đạo in Boston, the author of the poem Đổi cả thiên thu tiếng Mẹ cười. He was also a former student at
Trần Quý Cáp high school. His immediate response read: "Phùng Nguyễn rarely talked about his days in Saigon. He wrote
extensively about his time at Trần Quý Cáp in his book Tháp Ký Ức. Let me try
to ask his schoolmates at Trần Quý Cáp and I’ll let you know afterward."
Not willing to give up so easily, through Diệu
Chi Nguyễn Mộng Giác, I succeeded in getting in touch with another friend of
Phùng Nguyễn named Huy Văn Trương Văn Hùng. He went along with Phùng Nguyễn to
visit Tạ Chí Đại Trường on the day of Võ Phiến’s funeral. Huy Văn took a photo of Tạ Chí Đại
Trường and Phùng Nguyễn using the latter’s
iPhone. Hopefully I will be able to
obtain a copy of that photo one day. Huy Văn verified a number of information I
had concerning Phùng Nguyễn but there still remained an uncertain gap of about
20 years (from 1964 –1984), the period Phùng Nguyễn lived in Saigon.
I understand that
Huy Văn and Phùng Nguyễn were about the same age and both worked in the IT
field as computer programmers. They were contributors to the Văn Học Magazine
and Huy Văn stayed in close contact with Phùng Nguyễn’s family. I called Huy
Văn to set up an appointment so that the two of us could go and visit Phùng
Nguyễn’s mother, two days after Thanksgiving. We did not have the correct
address of Phùng Nguyễn’s sister but thanks to the directions from Hồ Như we
finally arrived at destination in an area of Huntington Beach where the streets
were named after fish like Bluefin, Stingray, Carp... Phùng Nguyễn’s mother
often came to this place to be with her daughter. Unfortunately, on that day
nobody was at home when we rang the bell.
Several days
later, I obtained a phone number from Đặng Thơ Thơ and the muffled voice of Phùng Nguyễn’s sister answered my call. In
an instant, a 20-years-long void was partially filled.
1964, no longer
able to live with the dangers of a war zone and a disastrous flood that took
place that year in the Center of the country, Phùng’s mother decided to take
all her children to the South to live. Phùng at that time was only 14 but being
the oldest son he had to help his mother take care of his younger siblings.
Working as a mason or a helper in a wood shop he could only go to class at
nightfall at a private school.
1968, still in high school, at the young age
of 18, Phùng was sent to the Trung tâm Huấn luyện Quang Trung to train as a
communication specialist. In 1971 he was severely injured by a mine explosion
during an operation and endured a long stay in the military hospital Tổng Y
viện Cộng hoà. He eventually left the place on a pair of clutches and was
discharged from the military right afterward.
1975, he stayed
in Vietnam and the “renegade” soldier Phùng Nguyễn lived through 9 trying years
doing anything he could find to survive until the day he was able to immigrate
to the United States under the sponsorship of his sister in 1984. In the first
years, Phùng also tried his hand doing various things to earn a living: picking
onions in the fields, preparing the dough or washing plates as an assistant
cook in a pizza parlor while going to school at night.
The literary
critic Nguyễn Vy Khanh, 14 years back, noted that in his two published
auto-fiction books, Nguyễn Phùng has referred to this period of his life.
Through the pages, we can learn more about the wounded veteran Phùng Nguyễn.
"He was still very young. At that time,
he underwent treatment at the military hospital Quân Y viện Cộng hoà. They
tried to save his badly maimed leg by mistreating it in all manners imaginable.
He was so much in pain he implored them to amputate it and throw it away for
good. Fortunately, they turned a deaf ear to his supplications! He had to lie
in bed helplessly like that on an iron bed with his leg immobilized in a rigid
plaster cast and his arms covered with huge needles connected to long plastic
tubes. Helpless and hopeless he spent his time waiting for waves of
excrutiating pains to come and torture him twice a day in the morning and
afternoon when the nurses came to clean the wound and change the bandages. The
rest of the time, he lied in bed flat on his back cursing the onsets of pain.”
If Phan
Nhật Nam filed his reports from the frontline with his blood, sweat, and tears,
we can say that Phùng Nguyễn, on his part, wrote about the shrapnel left behind
all over those battlefields. Phùng Nguyễn wrote about his fellow wounded
soldiers he saw all around him. We quote:
"To kill time he did only one thing:
play Chinese chess. He faced many redoubtable opponents by reputation as well
as in appearance. One of them is named “One-eyed Angel of Death? Độc Nhãn Hắc
Thần”– a dark-skin and one-eyed Frankenstein. What frightened him the most was
not the way his opponent aggressively went on the attack using his bishop in
his first move but when he removed his left glass eye from its socket to clean
and admire it as if it was a heirloom. The empty cavernous socket just stared
at and mocked him in a scaring way. There were many other outlandish nicknames
used to call his other eccentric chess partners, young soldiers with amputated
arms, injured or broken limbs who were sent to
the place after being shot at in so many battlegrounds whose names he could not
recall! But the most reputable of them all was that Sergeant Major “Độc Cô Cầu
Bại”! (Author’s note: named after a champion fighter in a martial art long
novel by Kim Dung. He was famous for constantly going around to look for a
worthy opponent who could beat him.) With
his amputated legs fully covered by a green military-issued blanket that man
sat demurely in his wheelchair by his bedside. He “gracefully” attacked him on
the chess board with his nonstop masterful moves. He lost to him in humiliating
ways until that day when he was handed the rare chance to defeat the man. Alas!
He let it regretfully slip through his fingers at the man’s pathetic look:
sweat drops oozing out from the roots of his hair, his sinewy fingers moving
restlessly on the military blanket, his pair of eyes with tiny red blood
vessels covering dull yellow pupils radiating pure anxiety and despair. He
picked up a pawn…made an unfortunate move. Độc Cô Cầu Bại beat him that time
and he never had a second chance to win again." [Đêm Oakland và những
chuyện khác; Cháy Lên Những Ngọn Cỏ Khô. p31-32]
...
Once outside of
the country how did Phùng Nguyễn view the Vietnam War? Another quote:
"He [Đức, Phùng Nguyễn’s young friend -
the author’s note] lives by himself. Having to answer to no one, he goes out a
lot and at anytime he wishes. His freedom alone renders me extremely jealous.”
[The first person “me” here refers to Phùng Nguyễn who is talking about his
young friend] Phùng Nguyễn goes on: "On the other hand, I am older than
Đức, old enough to kill and be killed lawfully before Đức has the chance to
enter the big game called “war”. What’s more, the mere fact that I was born and
grew up in a poor village is reason enough to make him feel disturbed. Inside
the walls of the sumptuous villa and sheltered from the dangers of the world
outside, the people who dwell inside can afford the luxury to toy with
spiritual needs. For instance one’s personal views about the war…Or what is the
purpose of one’s life or the way one chooses to think about something. [Đêm
Oakland. Câu hỏi. p13]
…
"If I have to see myself in regard to the past war, I often think
of myself as a gambler who was down to his last buck in the final bet of his
life and unsure of how to play his final round. With a winner who refused to
start another hand from scratch then it served no purpose for me, the looser,
to stand there in a stupor and grumble. The best is to walk away, with the
consolation that at least I have played the game to the finish albeit in the
most pitiful way."
...
Not many were
informed that, while participating in that war game, the communication
specialist Phùng Nguyễn had paid a steep price with his flesh and blood.
JOINING THE MAIN STREAM
Upon their arrival on American shores as immigrants, Phùng
and his entire family did not receive any public assistance like his fellow
refugees. They did all kinds of works at minimum wages to survive.
At 34 and penniless, Phùng went back to school in the New World. That
village boy and wounded veteran who did not finish high school soon proved to
be an outstanding college student. Step by step, Phùng entered the main stream
with solid educational credentials he completed in the short span of six years:
Bachelor of Science in IT and Management with honors (summa cum laude) in 1990.
Two years later he obtained his MBA.
Phùng worked in
the information field since 1990 and after 20 years was promoted to the
position of Director of Information with Jaco Oil Company in California.
At 60, the age
when the ear is receptive of truth, the wise and sophisticated Phùng Nguyễn was
then faced with two options: either to continue with his career in the main
stream or to find happiness in a new family he cared for. That hardened and
sentimental man decided on the second “commitment”
as he chose to phrase it.
He terminated
his work contract with Jaco in Bakersfield with the considerable benefits he
accumulated through the more than two decades of close association with the company
in order to move to the East coast.
Phùng Nguyễn found happiness in his new family and dear friends at
personal costs: the idleness of a professional still in his prime yet divorced
from the main stream, the bitter cold that did not agree with his health, and
his unpleasant experience with the new cardiologist he did not have much trust
in. He confided that he could not have the cake and eat it too and never had
second thoughts about the decision he made.
PHÙNG NGUYỄN - THE AUTHOR
In the foreword of Tháp Ký Ức, Phùng Nguyễn’s
first book, Nguyễn Xuân Hoàng wrote: "Tháp
Ký Ức is a collection of stories dealing with human destiny, the depiction of
ordinary lives, love stories, childhood memories, tales of the old country,
anecdotes in a foreign land. The past and present of a generation that left
Saigon when they were just past their teen. Phùng Nguyễn’s stories were light
hearted, reflecting the ordinary occurrences of a precarious existence. They
were written with a simple yet captivating pen. Beauty, in the literary sense,
abounds in the pages of his work."
In the afterword
of the same book Tháp Ký Ức, author Nguyễn Mộng Giác observed: "In his first work Phùng Nguyễn went
one better than the authors of the older or of his generation who left the
South to seek refuge from the communists.
Those works formed the mainstay of Vietnamese literature overseas. Phùng
Nguyễn revisited the past with its enchanting memories but did not stop there.
He elevated the past and used it to discuss his outlook on life."
Tháp Ký Ức, a collection of short stories by Phùng Nguyễn was picked by
editor Nguyễn Mộng Giác and Business Manager Thạch Hãn Lê Thọ Giáo for
publication in the 1995 Tân Hợi New Year issue of Văn Học Magazine. It
attracted the immediate attention of a fascinated public. The book could be
considered as an autobiography in which the first person pronoun “I” was used
by the main protagonist who stands for the author Phùng Nguyễn himself. The most memorable thing is the “discussion”
the 11 year-old student had with his teacher Ms. Tố Quyên when she stated: -
"Hope constantly looks forward into the future", but we obstinately
insist that hope is a two-way not a one-way street like you asserted. Indeed,
if hope only lies in the future, then this life would be too wretched. Many years later, Phùng Nguyễn still
wished for the opportunity to meet his teacher again to ask her: “Could it be
that hope only sets its eyes on the future? Or could it be something else?”
During an
end-of-the-year celebration of the Văn Học Magazine staff at Nguyễn Mộng Giác’s
home, the authors Võ Phiến, Nghiêm Xuân Hồng, Nguyễn Xuân Hoàng and other
friends asked Tháp Ký Ức’s author
about teacher Tố Quyên.
Probably, Phùng Nguyễn will forever be haunted by that question for the
rest of his life with the only hope that somehow he could “cross the terrifying abyss that separates a past that is real and
something that has yet to materialize itself.”
The
handprint of Phùng Nguyễn, with his own handwriting:
"Ước mơ của điều đã đi qua! The
aspirations past things!"
Phùng
Nguyễn, 01-17-2012
[source:
Phan Nguyên’s private collection]
Writing about the young, the
generation in their 20’s and 30’s, living overseas, Phùng Nguyễn opined: "
Regardless of the difference separating youth and the war experience, I believe
that both Đức and I belong to the groups of people who unsteadily stand on two
planks drifting in opposite directions while attempting to keep their balance
so that they would not fall into the dark abyss of uncertainty below. Actually,
the plank that continuously pulls me back to the past has a better chance to prevail.
There are things that reside in there that will haunt me to the end of time.
For many years, I keep on going backward more than forward.” [Excerpt from
Đêm Oakland. Câu hỏi.]
Tháp Ký Ức, collection of stories, Văn Publisher, 1998 consisting of 15
stories, in addition to the foreword by Nguyễn Xuân Hoàng and afterword by
Nguyễn Mộng Giác.
Besides his autobiography, Phùng Nguyễn also wrote Chim Gáy Sau Vườn, an outstanding, humanistic, and
moving short story about his memories of the most horrifying wounds he
suffered during the war - That utterly unforgiving conflict fought in the name
of foreign ideologies had plunged our people in an internecine conflagration.
In the midst of the destruction and devastation depicted in Chim Gáy Sau Vườn bloomed the ill-fated love Xuyến reserved for
the pair of close friends Thuận and Tấn who were destined to fight each other
to the death. A ditch filled with spikes Thuận’s side dug in a backyard to kill
Tấn on the day he came home for his mother’s anniversary ended up in the tragic
death of Xuyến, Tấn’s sister and also Thuận’s lover – this was also the fate of
the innocent people caught between two enemy frontlines. [Đêm Oakland và những truyện khác. p
51]
Author Thảo
Trường once stated: "My ambition is
to condense this whole war into a short story, to put the whole era I live in
into a short story. I always long for such an accomplishment.” Reading Chim Gáy Sau
Vườn, I cannot help thinking about that
statement by Thảo Trường even though I fully understand that while
writing Chim
Gáy Sau Vườn, Phùng Nguyễn had never harbored such an ambition.
Đêm Oakland và Những
Truyện Khác, collection of
stories,
Văn Publisher, 2001
No
foreword and afterword, 16 stories.
Why
does one write? That is the question every author asks of himself.
Phùng Nguyễn wrote: "I later
discovered that the need to share was the real motive that led me to literature
instead of other things. Could it be that in between the things that belonged
to the past and the things that have yet to come is the fear of the
insurmountable? While waiting for an answer to my uncertainties, I become
exceedingly confused. "
Phùng Nguyễn held high expectation for
literature: "And from the ashes, hopefully a resplendent and newly born
phoenix will arise with a wingspan large enough to fly across the frightening
abyss that lies between a past that no longer exists and something that has yet
to materialize." (Nhà văn, 11/1999)
PHÙNG NGUYỄN THE COLUMNIST
Tháp
Ký Ức appeared
on Văn Học Magazine with Nguyễn Mộng Giác as its editor. For the first time I
was able to read that short story written by Phùng Nguyễn and got to know that new author.
Nỗi loay hoay của Lữ
Phương
also by Phùng published on the website Talawas was his first pointed
“critic piece” I was able to read. However this time, I knew him as a political
columnist.
Both the literary
and columnist sides of Phùng Nguyễn left strong impressions in me.
Recently, I had the chance to read
an article written by Phùng Nguyễn before it was uploaded on VOA’s Rừng và Cây Blog. When commenting on Prime Minister Hun Sen’s
submission to Beijing then comparing it to the loyalty the Vietnamese Communist
Party showed to China, he wrote: "so
from now on, as far as the servility toward the celestial court is concerned,
the CPOVN has found for itself a formidable competitor.” In the eMail sent
Phùng I referred to that quote and called it Quote of the Week as a compliment and to let him know I already
read his new article. Probably this is the last eMail I sent him that went
unanswered. In the morning of the 17th of November I called him on
his cellular phone but only received a message. I thought that may be on that
autumn day in Maryland, Phùng Nguyễn was taking a walk around a lake. Little
did I know that he was at that time resting in a hospital bed.
PHÙNG NGUYỄN THE MAN
I am blessed for having Phùng Nguyễn
as a friend. On our first encounter, he already inspired in me a feeling of
trust. In Phùng one can always detect kindness and devotion for his
friends.
Phùng Nguyễn and
Tạ Chí Đại Trường became friends when they worked at Văn Học Magazine. On
Saturday 11.10.2015, Phùng Nguyễn had an appointment with me to go to author Võ Phiến’s funeral.
However, several hours prior, Phùng was
told by Diệu Chi, Nguyễn Mộng Giác’s wife, that Tạ Chí Đại Trường just came to
bid her farewell for he was about to take a flight to Saigon that night. Tạ Chí
Đại Trường was suffering from terminal liver cancer and chose to spend his
final days in Vietnam. Upon hearing that, Phùng decided that, at any cost, he
had to see Tạ Chí Đại Trường for the last time. Even though they knew that Tạ
Chí Đại Trường could no longer take any solid food, the pair of good friends,
Phùng and Huy Văn, brought along the special rolls from Brodard Restaurant that
Tạ Chí Đại Trường so much liked.
That night Tạ Chí
Đại Trường boarded the plane for his “rendez vous with destiny” in his
homeland. I also learned that Tạ Chí Đại
Trường had entrusted Phùng Nguyễn with several of his writings with the express
wish for them to be published only after his death. Ironically, it was Phùng
Nguyễn who unexpectedly was the first to leave us. Hopefully, Loan, Phùng
Nguyễn’s wife, would be able to locate those writings.
Near the end of
2015, on his visit to California to be with his mother, I met Phùng Nguyễn. He
informed me that he was about to take charge of a Blog with VOA called Rừng & Cây and invited me to become
a contributor with this persuasive argument: the articles on VOA had a very
broad exposure especially with the readers inside of Vietnam. I believe with
his prestige and wide connections, Phùng Nguyễn’s Blog Rừng và Cây will be able to attract many contributors. I promised
to send him one article each month.
Phùng Nguyễn
proved to be open-minded and cordial in his talks but uncompromising in his
principles. If people were persuaded by him it was because of the strength of
his arguments rather than by force or coercion.
In meetings, with so many divergent even conflicting ideas flying
around, Phùng Nguyễn usually showed an ability to moderate and create an
atmosphere for democratic interactions that more often than not left him being
the person with the last word. This gift for leadership was probably the fruit
of so many long years he spent working in the mainstream.
As a colleague working with Da Màu,
Trịnh Cung had this to write about Phùng Nguyễn: "In my eye, Phùng is the personification of the freedom of
thoughts, of democracy and the fight against discrimination. I only knew Phùng
in recent years but we share the same opinion about literature and politics,
the observance of freedom and mutual respect. Phùng demonstrated a deep respect
for people to exercise their freedom to choose their political views. On the
other hand, he was unyielding in making a distinction between crimes and
humanism – this is the true measure of a writer - his literary talent
notwithstanding.”
Phùng Nguyễn’s
commentaries concerning the events in Vietnam led Văn Việt Forum to conclude
that he commands "a rare
understanding from an outpost outside the country."
A PERSONAL NOTE
Mindful that one should avoid
referring to oneself when writing about the portrait of an artist, I decided to
include in the following lines a “personal note” because I believe this is a
document that pertains to my literary friend Phùng Nguyễn.
About four months
ago, Phùng Nguyễn sent me three questions. Only recently, he reminded me: “Vinh, you still owe me three answers".
While recording those questions below, I feel really sad thinking that I will
never be able to pay Phùng Nguyễn that literary debt.
Phùng
Nguyễn, California May 2015
[photo
by Ngô Thế Vinh]
Three questions for Ngô Thế Vinh
Phùng Nguyễn
Phùng Nguyễn
1. The Mekong River, the great love.
It would not be
far off the mark to assert that everybody nurtures a great love in life. Author
Ngô Thế Vinh is not an exception. His lover comes from an isolated region of
the Tibetan plateau at the altitude of over 5000 m above the sea. Starting with
hesitating steps in the mountainous region of Qinghai Province, this lover
meanders the length of Yunnan Province in the South of China before crossing
the borders of Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and finally Vietnam where her
journey of over 4800 km ends in the East Sea through the Tiền and Hậu Rivers.
She was known by different names, Dza Chu, Lancang Jiang, Mea Nam Khong, Tonle
Thom, Cửu Long…Nevertheless, she is most popularly known as the Mekong.
The Mekong River
serves as the inspiration for the two famous non-fiction novels “Cửu Long Cạn Dòng Biển Đông Dậy Sóng” and “Mekong Dòng Sông Nghẽn Mạch” as well
as the numerous research papers, important articles about the changes occurring
in the Mekong’s ecosystem over the past decades by Ngô Thế Vinh. It is this
love that with time transformed Ngô Thế Vinh, the author, into an expert of
that most important river in Southeast Asia.
Due to the
Mekong’s economic potentials and the serious impacts caused by the changes in
its ecosystem all along its course to the sea, the diplomatic relations between
the countries in the region become more troubled, especially when big and small
hydropower dams are being built up and downstream the Mekong. More than other
nations, Vietnam has to face much difficulty in the economic and foreign
relations arenas because she has to deal with the unfavorable impacts brought
about by the changes in the Mekong’s ecosystem and the expansionist design in
the East Sea coming from Beijing at the same time.
Author Ngô Thế
Vinh, what do you see in the Mekong that made you so enamored with her? From
the vantage point of a seasoned observer, can you share with the readers your
views concerning the changes in the Mekong’s ecosystem and their impacts in the
foreseeable future?
2. The trial of “Mặt trận ở Sài Gòn”
in 1971.
In 1972, Bách
Khoa Magazine (Sài gòn) conducted an interview with Ngô Thế Vinh, the author of
“Mặt trận ở Sài Gòn”, about his appearance before the court “on the allegations
of disturbing the public order and undermining the discipline and fighting
spirit of the armed forces." In its Editorial, Bách Khoa Magazine had the
following introduction of the author and event:
“Ngô Thế Vinh, author of “Vòng đai xanh”, was just awarded the 1971 National
Prize for Literature before the Tết. After the Tết he received a summon to
appear in court in connection to his article "Mặt trận ở Sài Gòn"
that appeared in the issue no. 34 of the Trình Bày Magazine "on the
allegations of disturbing the public order and undermining the discipline and
fighting spirit of the armed forces." If the Prize for Literature awarded
to “Vòng đai xanh” did not create a controversy like in the case with the Prize
for Poetry, his trial, however, became the topic of discussion for many writers
on daily as well as weekly publications, magazines, civilian and military news
media and with public opinion. With one voice, they were in support of the
author who was taking part in an operation in the highlands on the day of the
award presentation. For that reason, this interview is conducted so that the
readers of Bách Khoa can arrive at an understanding of the circumstances under
which the award-winning “Vòng đai xanh” was conceived and how its author views
his trial.
We would like to note that: Ngô Thế Vinh was born in 1941 in Thanh Hóa
and served as the editor-in-chief of Tình Thương, the mouthpiece for cultural
and social change of the medical students of the class of 63-66. He graduated
from medical school in 1968, joined the medical corps, served with the Special
Forces and assumed the position of chief medical officer of the 81th Airborne Rangers. His
published works include: the novels Mây bão (1963), Bóng đêm (1964), Gió mùa
(1965) and Vòng đai xanh (1970).”
In the aforementioned interview,
author Ngô Thế Vinh discussed a gamut of problems South Vietnam’s society was
facing in the first part of the 1970s, from the movement for self-rule by the
minorities in Tây Nguyên to the censorship imposed on the press and literary
works. In order to arrive at a clearer grasp of the issues raised by author Ngô
Thế Vinh, we invite the readers of Bách Khoa to read the entire interview
printed in this issue.
Dear Ngô Thế Vinh, the “Mặt trận ở Sài Gòn”
trial in the South showed that the censorship regime at the time the trial took
place was no less stringent than that in the North. The same confiscations, cuts, penalties, even
trials of writers by the court. As an insider what is your view of the
censorship regime in both sides? Is it fair to say that the censorship in the
South is “better”, “more decent” than in the North?
3. The Portrait of an Artist
In November of
2010, Da Màu Magazine published the article “Một
Cao Xuân Huy Khác” by Ngô Thế Vinh to commemorate the author of “Tháng Ba Gãy Súng” in a rather unusual
way. The article began with the introduction of the term Melanoma followed by a discussion of this rare type of cancer that
author Cao Xuân Huy unfortunately came down with and had to depart from this
life in a very untimely manner.
In June of 2014,
also on Da Màu Magazine, the readers were introduced to author Ngô Thế Vinh’s
article “Nguyễn Xuân Hoàng trên con dốc Tử Sinh.” Unlike in the case with Cao
Xuân Huy, the article “Nguyễn Xuân Hoàng trên con dốc Tử Sinh” offered a more balanced
discussion of Nguyễn Xuân Hoàng as the man, the author and the patient. In this
writer’s judgment, this time, Ngô Thế Vinh the author walks in lockstep with
Ngô Thế Vinh the physician, the medical doctor of the 81st Airborne
Rangers, on a journey to reconstruct the portraits of writers, poets and
artists who were also his dear friends. After Cao Xuân Huy, Nguyễn Xuân Hoàng
came the turn of Nghiêu Đề, Dương Nghiễm Mậu, Thanh Tâm Tuyền. Then Võ Phiến,
Mặc Đỗ, Linh Bảo, Nguyễn Đình Toàn, and Nhật Tiến. Most recently, he turned his
attention to Đinh Cường. This writer who is also his loyal reader only wishes
that author Ngô Thế Vinh continues to proceed on his wonderful adventure.
An observation
held by many: The writers and artists author Ngô Thế Vinh chose to write about
came from diverse backgrounds but they all shared this common trait: they
either had left us or were caught in the sunset of the life cycle of birth and
death. The readers may wonder: is this a crucial criteria author Ngô Thế Vinh
uses to choose the subjects for his articles?
Mindful of the end of the cycle of
life and death
Writing the artists or authors’
portraits
Holding in one hand the scalpel of a
doctor
And the pen of a writer in the
other!
How much of it is
literary, how much of it is medical in each of the portraits you wrote - my
dear Ngô Thế Vinh?
[End of quotes]
Dear Phùng
Nguyễn, I could never imagine that I would be writing a portrait of you so
soon. We just met then you left us. Yet, it is quite a challenge for me to
collect information about you – especially about a period of your life you did
not wish to recall. In your absence, the literary and critic circle overseas
has lost a giant. Your unexpected and sudden departure reminds me of a quote
whose author I do not remember: "the
only certainty in this life is uncertainty."
PHÙNG NGUYỄN - A LOVER OF THE SEA
I could not tell
since when, Phùng Nguyễn fell deeply in love with the sea. During the years he
lived and worked in Bakersfield, a location relatively far away from the sea,
every weekend, Phùng would drive for a couple of hours to go visit his favorite
beaches. In the few days Phùng Nguyễn flew from the East Coast to California to
stay with his mother, he would wake up very early in the morning to go for a 4
to 5 mile walk along the beach sometimes by himself, sometimes with his two
younger sisters. Phùng preferred to start early because at that time the air
was fresh and there were few people around. He must have a healthy heart to be
able to cover such a long distance at such a fast pace. As for me, I could only
accompany him during the weekend. We would meet at the Pier in Huntington Beach
I lightheartedly called “đầu cầu biên
giới or the head of the frontier bridge".
Huntington Beach Pier Oct 4, 2015
[photo by Trịnh Cung]
Huntington Beach Mural Oct 4, 2015
[photo by Ngô Thế Vinh]
Phùng Nguyễn and Ngô Thế Vinh
in Laguna Beach Oct 11, 2015
Only this last
October, we were having breakfast together at the German Cafe Heidelberg on PCH Laguna Beach overlooking a corner of the
ocean. At the time, the two of us made plans to meet next time at Rooftop Lounge so that we could enjoy a
bird-view of the Pacific reputed for its gorgeous sunsets with our homeland at
the other side of the ocean. This time Phùng Nguyễn did not keep his part of
the bargain with me even though he was known for being very punctual.
On the following Saturday, Huy Văn and I paid
a visit to Phùng Nguyễn’s mother who was in her 90s. This elderly lady’s last
name is Phan and she came from the same village of Điện Bàn, Quảng Nam like Mr.
Phan Khôi and his family. They also belonged to the same parish. In tears, she
relived with us the difficult memories of a mother who just lost her son. She
placed the jar containing Phùng’s ashes at the head of her bed. Each night she
prayed the Buddha for her son and her daughter revealed to us that she often
talked to Phùng. The lady burst out in tears when she recalled the words Phùng
uttered to her the last time they met: “Do you know that I love you very much
Mother?” Next week, Phùng’s ashes will
be flown to the East Coast. His sister mentioned that Phùng’s last wish was
that his ashes be spread over the Ocean of Peace with his homeland at the other
side of the ocean.
Phùng Nguyễn’s mother and Ngô Thế
Vinh
[photo by Huy Văn, December 5, 2015]
With deep emotion, I wrote this
article in order to share Phùng Nguyễn’s memory with his dear friends in their
moment of great grief and loss.
NGÔ THẾ VINH
Laguna Beach, Thanksgiving Day
November 26, 2015 - December 6, 2015
