Dang Than

Đặng Thân
Pen name	Đặng Thân
Occupation	Writer, Poet
Nationality	Vietnam
Period	2004 - present
Notable work(s)	Ma Net (Cyber Ghost, short stories collection, 2008), Tiền vệ phụ âm thư (avant-garde calligraphy, 2009)

Đặng Thân is a notable bilingual poet, fiction writer and essayist in Vietnam.

In the feature article "Demilitarized Zone: Report From Literary Vietnam" on the internationally prestigious New York-based Poets & Writers - Sep/Oct 2009, American writer/journalist Stephen Morison Jr. writes of Dang Than:

'In Vietnam, many of the writers belong to [the school of] realism, specifically, socialist realism,' Dang says. 'Some literary critics say I belong to nonrealism, to multidimensionality. So it has been very difficult for me to find a publisher.'

and

In the literary circles he runs in, Dang is praised for his idiosyncratic prose and 'rebellious' style.^[1]

American senior writer and editor of Asia Times and The Washington Times James W. Borton stated:

Dang Than's stories are most impressive and extremely well written.^[2]

Australian scholar/sculptor Stavros Carapetis cited:

Dang Than has the knack of taking simple, everyday events and actions and presenting them in a way that demonstrates his philosophical, sensitive and perceptive mindset. He reflects on some of the most fundamental and yet basic features of man's existence and relationships; he searches out and expresses their value, depth and importance to our lives in language that is, at the same time, easy to read and yet, deep and emotional.

He is, of course, highly appreciated by the Vietnamese elite. Consider, say, critic Do Lai Thuy regards him "the typical figure of Post-Doi Moi Literature".^[3] He is considered "the best humourist ever" and even an "awesomely brilliant genius".^[4] Unfortunately, it has been repeatedly said that leading governmental departments in Vietnam have instructed the "state-controlled" literary circle that his works are "harmful". From 2008 up to the current time (2010), all publishing houses here have not been allowed to print any book of his for no righteous reason, and official state-run newspapers have been ordered to leave him in the dark.

Biography

Born in North Vietnam, Dang Than has taught American and English literature at several universities in Hanoi since 1990, and has also worked as a translator and interpreter. As of 2009, he is the Training Director at the IVN Institute for Research and Support of Education Development, as well as being in charge of Futurology Studies at the I-Ching Research & Development Center in Hanoi.

Writing career

Đặng Thân is notable and idiosyncratic in many literary genres: short story, poetry, essay and novel. He is praised for a 'rebellious' style with 'non-linear' and post-modernist techniques (with Ma Net) in short stories. In poetry, he is the promoter of the Vietnamese alliteration and 'uni-verse' style (with Từ điển thi x/x loại [chúng sinh]). With novels, he is marked with allegorical works and considered "the typical figure of post-Doi Moi literature".

He also writes and publishes in English, and is working on two books, Post Po-Mo Literary Dictionary and Tao’s Poetry–or the Poetic Pursuit of the Truest-self.

In 2005, he won an award for short story in the Poetry & Short Stories Contest on the Deep Love for 1000-year-old Thang Long.

In December 2008, he published his first short stories collection named Ma Net (Cyber Ghost), and it was immediately greeted by ardent reviewers and readers both at home and abroad with raptuous applause and controversy as well. Hundreds of literature bibliophiles attended his book launch, an incredible event of that kind in Vietnam these days.

In January 2009, a 23-metre-long scroll of calligraphy named Avant-garde Alliteration (by Trinh Tuan & Pham Long Ha) depicting his seven unique poetic works of alliteration came to the public and shocked the media.

Works

Novels

• 3.3.3.9 [những mảnh hồn trần] - See: Chapter 1, Chapter 16, Chapter 29, Chapter 29, Chapter 33, Chapter 53 on Da Màu
• Những kênh bão người / Channels of the Homo Storms - See "Sử thi Ba Bựa/Tam Tài xứ Xích Đạo Thổ" (The Epic of Three Estates) on Da Màu
• Factum [a] Cave - See i, ii, iii on Tiền Vệ

Poetry

• [phô] phố: Đêm Đê..., Đêm Sương Mù Trên Phố, Raped in Vietnam, Sao Em Chỉ Uống Cà Phê Chiều..., Tháp Bút, Quá Nguyên tiêu, 1 ngày nghỉ, 7 ngày ngân 7 nốt, Phố âm u ngày Đông, Một vì sao, Nước Mắt trên Sa Mạc, ngái em, Cơn Sóng Đầu Tiên Năm Mới Đến, Mưa '68', cô đơn em, Khóc cạn sông Hồng...
• TỪ ĐIỂN THI X/X LOẠI [chúng sinh] - See: A, B1 & B2, C1 & C2, D, G1 & G2, J, L1 & L2, M, N, P1 & P2, S1 & S2, V... on Tiền Vệ
• Thơ phụ âm (Alliteration): Phụ âm [ân đạo hệ / Khoa lão mẫu thân từ], Xao xuyến & Sung sướng, 6i +Hi i - ii - iii - iv - v - vi...
• hài ku[l]
• TAO'S POETRY - or the Poetic Pursuit of the Truest-self

Short Stories

• Vào rừng mơ
• "Thùng thuốc nổ"
• Đã 20 mùa thu người Hà Nội
• Người anh hùng bất tử
• Người thầy của em
• Cú hých về nguồn
• Người thầy của những tuyên ngôn
• Đêm trắng của Nam Việt Vương
• "Hiếp"
• "Yêu"
• ma net
• ma nhòa
• Mẩu Thịt Thừa

Essays

• Mộc Dục Luận,
• Kẻ sỹ: Cội nguồn cảm hứng sáng tạo & Xuất xử, Mơ,
• [Ngồ] Ngộ Ngôn Sư,
• Đọc Bình Ngô đại cáo (nhân ngày nhà giáo),
• Tú Xương & những con giòi [bò trong... tủy],
• Những chuồ/trường đại học (ĐH) khủng vs. ĐH "R",
• Vai diễn & Số phận,
• Bán[h],
• Về [đại] dịch [ma] thuật,
• Hà Nội 21 cửa ô - Hà Nội 5 cửa ô & Ô Cầu Giấy,
• Hoàng Kế Viêm và quan hệ với Lưu Vĩnh Phúc,
• Có một dòng sông "chết lâm sàng",
• Tửu Luận, Thơ phụ âm (alliteration) [& tôi],
• "Hình như" Từ Chi,
• Hình như "khói",
• Hình như có người "cởi áo" trước hư không,
• Hình như là "cởi quần",
• Tiếng ngựa hoang...,
• Gustav Mahler - lời tiên tri của chủ nghĩa hiện đại & chủ nghĩa hậu-hiện đại,
• James Joyce: vầng hồng từ đồng cỏ Ireland,
• Julius Caesar, *
• Đức Thánh Trần & Sứ mệnh trớ trêu...
• V[i]ết mật ngôn trên d[r]a,
• Và đã "phải lòng",
• "Quite connects",
• "Nước mắt trên sa mạc",
• Mai Văn Phấn & Công nghệ cách tân thơ
• "Còn lũ nào ác hơn phát xít?" (về Có được là người của Primo Levi)
• "Nỗi đau [đáu] của trực giác(hay là tiếng gầm của sư tử)" (về Hoàng Ngọc Hiến)
• "Đoàn tầu 'Thống Nhất'(hay là 'quân tử dĩ hậu đức tải vật')" (về Đỗ Lai Thúy)
• "Quên Henry Miller / Nhớ Phạm Công Thiện"
• "Hành trình cỏ cây xuyên tâm l[iên/inh]" (đọc dọc Thơ tuyển Mai Văn Phấn)

Criticism

• "Having read the selection of short stories Ma Net (Cyber Ghost) I was exceptionally interested in the story "ma nhòa [net ii]" that is in proximity to the popular storytelling or 'linear narrative'. Its uniquely original feature lays in its "storytelling voice" which is a magical mix of ironic humour and raw anguish. Nonetheless, the author showed alternative styles of 'non-linear narrative' in most of the other stories..."^[5]
• "If there needs to be a definition, I would like to name his writing style as 'ultra-realism'... This genre of literature reveals its ideology not on the 'realist' side of the plots but on the 'ultra' one. The destruction of the literary '3-D limit' creates an open sky of originality towards the infinite, inspiring a feeling like advancing from a shallow pond to an immense ocean. That can be true for both the writer and the reader as the former could find himself an outsider and the latter may discover himself the hero of a story. Đặng Thân's language can be seen flying with wings in stories like "'Hiếp'" and "'Yêu'", especially in the exceptionally well-written work of "ma net". He must be recognized as the first creator of 'ultra-realistic' characters in literature... This approach is that of an eagle. Flying over or overpassing the 'reality' may be the one and only way to catch the holistic view of it. In 'Nietzschean terms', one must get out of the 'mansty' so as to see man clearly and discerningly... Such a 'fresh' literature of sudden rises to 'heaven' and amazing falls to 'hell' just emerges from his own way of 'wording' and 'storytelling voicing'... An eagle, isn't he?"^[6]

Notes

1. ^ Stephen Morison Jr. (2009). "Demilitarized Zone: Report From Literary Vietnam". Poets & Writers, Sep/Oct 2009 (New York, USA).
2. ^ Đặng Thân (2008). Ma Net (Cyber Ghost). Văn Học Publishing House, Hanoi, Vietnam. Back cover.
3. ^ Đỗ Lai Thúy (2010). "Đặng Thân: the Typical Figure of Post-Doi Moi Literature". Da Màu.
4. ^ Nguyễn Hồng Nhung (2010). "Note-taking Đặng Thân's".
5. ^ Hoàng Ngọc Hiến (2008). "Reading Ma Net". Văn Chương Việt.
6. ^ Phạm Lưu Vũ (2008). "The Best Humourist Ever". Văn Việt.

References

• Khoan cắt bê tông, an anthology of avant-guard poetry by 23 authors (Vietnam: Giấy Vụn Publishers, Oct 2005).
• Đặng Thân in Tác Giả Việt Nam (Vietnamese Authors), compiled by Lê Bảo Hoàng (Canada: Nhân Ảnh Press, 2006).
• Truyện ngắn trên trang Web, Văn nghệ sông Cửu Long (Vietnam: Văn Học Publishing House, 2006).
• Tuyển tập thơ Tân hình thức (Blank Verse, An Anthology Of Vietnamese New Formalism Poetry), edited by Khế Iêm, translated by Joseph Đỗ Vinh (USA: Tân Hình Thức Publishing Club, 2006).
• Tuyển tập Tiền Vệ I, edited by Nguyễn Hưng Quốc & Hoàng Ngọc-Tuấn (Australia: Tiền Vệ, 2007).
• "Tọa đàm văn nghệ ở... gốc cây Ưu Bà" by Phạm Lưu Vũ on talawas.
• Có jì dùng jì - có nấy dùng nấy, an anthology of avant-guard poetry by 47 authors (Vietnam: Giấy Vụn Publishers, Oct 2007).

Further reading

• Hoàng Ngọc Hiến (2008). "Reading Ma Net". Văn Chương Việt.
• Phạm Lưu Vũ (2008). "Đặng Thân: from 'net' (sharpness) to... 'nhòa' (vagueness)". Da Màu.
• Kim Sen (2009). "The Positive Puzzle in Ma Net". Đất Việt.
• Stephen Morison Jr. (2009). "Demilitarized Zone: Report From Literary Vietnam". Poets & Writers - Sep/Oct 2009. pp. 25–26.
• Đỗ Lai Thúy (2010). "Đặng Thân: the Typical Figure of Post-Doi Moi Literature". Da Màu.
• Nguyễn Hồng Nhung (2010). "Note-taking Đặng Thân's".

External links

Vietnamese

• Đặng Thân on Wikipedia (Vietnamese version)
• Đặng Thân page on Tiền Vệ.
• Đặng Thân page on Thơ Tân Hình Thức.
• Đặng Thân page on eVăn.
• Đặng Thân page on Văn Tuyển Thư Quán.
• Đặng Thân page on Văn Bút.
• "Đặng Thân: Cần phải loại bỏ khái niệm 'cấm kỵ' ra khỏi sáng tác văn học" - an interview on Sông Cửu Long.
• "Gõ cửa ngày mới" - an interview on VTV1 (video).
• "Hậu hiện đại: Cần nó thì nó đến" - an interview on Văn nghệ Trẻ, available on phongdiep.net then in Bàn tròn Văn học on Viết Văn. Its full version is now on Talawas.
• “Thế giới [văn chương] luôn có nhiều con đường, quan trọng là có ‘người viết’ hay không” - an interview by Nhã Thuyên on Da Màu, Tiền Vệ, Hội Nhà văn VN, Viết Văn, Tạp chí Nhà Văn - HNVVN, Lê Thiếu Nhơn's + "Tác phẩm của tôi thuần túy văn chương" on Thể thao & Văn hóa, Pháp luật TPHCM, CiNET, Thanh Hóa Online, Vietnam+

English

• Dang (surname) on Wikipedia with a list of "Notable people with the surname Đặng".
• Dang Than on Wikivietlit (part of the Viet Nam Literature Project, which promotes Vietnamese literature in the United States through a website, a print newsletter, and public events).
• Author biography on The Writers Post.
• "The Shock to Root" on The Writers Post.
• "I Bathe..." on The Writers Post.
• Seven poems from Tao's Poetry - or the Poetic Pursuit of the Truest-self on The Writers Post.
• "The First Tsunami Of the New Year" in Blank Verse, An Anthology Of Vietnamese New Formalism Poetry.
• "Poetry Living Room Vol. 8" on Beehive Magazine - USA.
• "Demilitarized Zone:Report From Literary Vietnam" by Stephen Morison Jr. in Poets& Writers Magazine - New York, USA.
• Ma Net in Fairfield Branch Library, NSW, Australia + Ma Net in Port Adelaide Enfield Public Library Service, Australia + Ma Net/Cyber Ghost in Raker Library Services, Inc. - Boston, MA, USA + Ma Net in Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library, USA
• "A trivia question" by Lobstergirl on Goodreads.om

French

• Quelle est votre citation préférée? - Julie-Anne Boudreau's Résumé (Professeure-chercheure, titulaire de la chaire de recherche du Canada sur la ville et les enjeux politiques liés à l’insécurité)

Portuguese

• Dang Than on sensAgent: "definição e sinónimos de Dang Than", "todas as traduções do Dang Than"

Persondata
Name	Dang Than
Alternative names
Short description	Vietnamese writer
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death