Book festival opens at National Library

The 2015 Book Festival takes place at the National Library of Vietnam in Hanoi from April 18 to May 5 in response to Vietnam Book Day (April 21) and World Book and Copyright Day (April 23).

Held annually since 2006, the festival aims to honour authors and their work, encourage reading in the community, and increase public awareness of reading culture, author rights and the role of libraries.

Readers participating in the festival have a chance to meet and talk with authors and literary critics.

A book exhibition featuring the mixture of cultures will also be held to highlight the various cultures of ASEAN countries and others around the world.

Meanwhile, children can participate in a drawing contest or play games.

Within the framework of the festival, the National Library receives donated books to be distributed to libraries in-need across the country.

In response to Vietnam Book Day, book festivals were launched on April 18 in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang.

Also the same day, a ceremony was held in Hanoi to present the 2014 Vietnam Book prize.

The organising board presented 75 prizes among 479 entries from 44 publishing houses nationwide.

The event, the 10th of its kind, is among activities celebrating Vietnam Book Day (April 21).

Dancenter to hold annual show

The international dance training school Dancenter will stage a show called Celebration featuring 200 dancers at the Youth Cultural House in early June.

"The show Celebration is how we show our appreciation and joy for what life has given us. People around the world celebrate what they enjoy, are thankful for, and believe in," a Dancenter press release says.

Dancenter calls their show a true "theatrical experience", with the best of music, expressive costumes and lighting design, and passionate performers who excel in dance styles from ballet to breakdance. Each of the performances will tell a story of a celebration taking place somewhere in the universe.

The eighth edition of Dancenter's annual show is dedicated to audiences, who have given the school support over the years.

The school says they hope to see audiences all up on their feet cheering, dancing, and filling the theatre with happiness and energy.

The show will take place on June 6 and 7. Tickets can be ordered via email at reservations@dancentervn.com, telephone (08) 3519 4490, or website ticketbox.vn.

Exhibition marks 150 years of press

An exhibition on old Vietnamese publications will take place in Ha Noi today to celebrate the 150-year anniversary of the Vietnamese language press.

The event will explain the start and development of the Vietnamese press since the publication of Gia Dinh, the first Vietnamese newspaper, in Sai Gon on April 15, 1865.

Popular newspapers and magazines printed between 1865 and 1954 will be on display with presentations from their private collectors.

Translator Pham Xuan Nguyen, researcher Lai Nguyen An and writer Nguyen Truong Quy will also hold a talk show today on the Vietnamese language press. They will discuss the role of press in the nation's history – especially documents printed in the romanised-Vietnamese script, which was introduced to Viet Nam by Priest Alexandre de Rhodes in 1865.

The exhibition will run until Tuesday at the Ha Noi Library, 47 Ba Trieu Street in Ha Noi.

The online forum sachxua.net, the Dong Tay Culture and Language Centre and the Ha Noi Library organised the exhibition.

Indian New Year gala in HCM City

There is no single Indian New Year, but Indians living in HCM City celebrate UTSAV every year in mid-April, when it is indeed New Year in many parts of that country. This year it will be celebrated today at Queen Hall on Nguyen Tat Thanh Street in District 4 on April 18.

The fun starts at 6.30pm with cultural shows, a fashion show featuring clothes from various states, dances from around the country, Bollywood music and dance with an Indian DJ. Of course, there will be lots of Indian food as well as drinks.

Organisers said UTSAV was usually a family occasion, with lots of fun and games for children too.

Tickets cost VND650,000 (VND800,000 if bought at the gate). To buy tickets and for more information, contact Indian Business Chamber in Vietnam (INCHAM) 84-8-38238132 or incham@gmail.com.

Project provides free playgrounds to Ha Noi children

A free mobile playground will be provided to children in the old quarter of Ha Noi on Saturday evenings from today (17 April) till June 27.

The project is an initiative of the Think Playgrounds group, and is supported by the management board of the Ha Noi Old Quarter and Health Bridge.

The project, entitled Play Street, continues the previous activities of Think Playgrounds and partners to create free playgrounds for children in Ha Noi, and give them space to play with proper meaning.

The playground of the Play Street project will be located on Dao Duy Tu Street, (the section between Luong Ngoc Quyen Street and Hang Buom Street).

The first session will be held on Friday evening (from 8pm to 10pm). It will be organised every weekend evening (from 7pm to 9pm) till the end of June. All equipment of this mobile playground is expected to be handed over to the community or set up in some fixed playgrounds in the locality.

Play Street has equipment made of bamboo and recycled materials, free play space with themes that are regularly changed (such as chalk drawings, racing and cartoons), as well as traditional games such as bamboo jacks, the game of squares and stilt-walking.

Farming, practical way to maintain Gong space in Gia Lai

Exchanging two buffalos for a gong set is a vivid example of how the intangible heritage has effectively been preserved in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai.

The Yang Bac commune People’s Committee has for many years allowed youth unions from local villages borrow land for farming, earning dozens of million VND per year. The money is used to cover their operation expenses, especially gong purchases.

Secretary of the Yang Bac Communist Youth Union Dinh Drap shared that his generation has fallen in love with the traditional instrument’s sound and all of them know how to play it.

Gong troupes have been set up gathering young people across 15 villages, he said.

In Gia Lai, in a bid to bring the music closer to children, many boarding schools have started teaching the gong as part of their educational programmes.

The province also organises a provincial gong festival every 4 years and a district-level event every two years.

Gia Lai is now preserving 5,655 gong sets, including 932 rare items.

The Central Highlands region, which comprises the five provinces of Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Lam Dong, Gia Lai and Kon Tum, is home to stunning mythical landscapes and a significant population of diverse ethnic minorities and cultures.

In particular, the region’s gong culture was recognised as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2005.-

Arts programme honours banking sector

An arts programme on legend of monetary road was held in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17 to honour the Vietnamese banking sector for its great contributions to the development of the country.

The event was attended by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, and former Party and state leaders, along with leaders of central branches, ministries, and HCM City.

During the programme, the delegates reviewed the tradition of the banking sector over the nation’s history.

The programme also featured a wide variety of arts and cultural performances praising the beauty of the land and people of Vietnam.

Addressing the programme, the Prime Minister stressed the role of the banking system during war time as well as national construction and development today.

On May 6, 1951, President Ho Chi Minh signed a decree establishing the Vietnam National Bank which was responsible for issuing banknotes, managing the State Treasury and budget revenues, and conducting credit activities to serve commodity circulation and strengthening the state economy, as well as fighting the enemy on the currency monetary front.

During the anti-US war, the main tasks of the banking sector were consolidating the currency market, recovering the economy of the north of Vietnam after the fiercest years of the war against the US and promoting the development of agriculture, industry and trade to contribute to the cause of building socialism in the North and the struggle for liberation in the South.

Over the past years, the sector has actively contributed to ensuring the country’s social security, especially supporting the poor as well as people of ethnic minorities and in remote areas, emphasised the PM.

He also expressed his hope that the banking officials and staff will strive further to make the system develop more rapidly, comprehensively, effectively, safely and sustainably, contributing more to the national construction and defence in the new period.

The secret identity of Vietnam’s new breakout author

Publishing is an industry full of mysteries. Authors conceal themselves behind what they write, with the exception of memoirs and other personal narratives. Books are usually perfect hideaways for untold secrets.

Still it’s rare to have a writer, in this era of questioning and this growing culture of fame seeking, who is so diligent about keeping his or her identity a mystery. And very good at it.

When Tony Buổi Sáng, or Tony Morning, launched his Facebook page in 2013, it was almost impossible to foresee his rise to prominence. He posts regularly in unpolished Vietnamese about his life, study and work, in a voice that is amusingly egotistical, sometimes mildly sarcastic.

It’s a style that has been overworked by countless writers. But somehow Tony has managed to hit the right chord with thousands of young readers in Vietnam.

There is no clear through-line in what he writes. One day he may post about his experience with unfriendly Vietnam Airlines flight attendants, and the next he asks his audience to think about the social costs of eating dog meat. His voice at times borders on being didactic, if not patronizing.

But what he lacks in poise, he makes up with sincerity: he just wants young people to improve the image of the nation by being the best version of themselves.

The tapestry of his public persona — a Harvard-trained, cosmopolitan, outspoken entrepreneur with an unwavering interest in agriculture — has been mostly woven from the scarce threads provided in his short writings. The rest comes from what can be speculated between the lines. For

instance, he may have a disdain for the media, based on his recurring criticism that it only focuses on negative things and gives the public nothing to be hopeful for.

In terms of popularity, secrecy strangely never works against him. Local netizens have kept the rumor mill running over the past two years, gradually turning him into a household name. His Facebook page now has more than 340,000 fans, twice the number six months ago, and continues to add nearly 700 new followers a day.

That hardly qualifies him as a social media star in Vietnam, where top singers and comedians can have up to seven million followers. But for a new writer that nobody has ever met, Tony could make any brand-name author in the country jealous.

The secluded Tony Morning had his first big break last fall when "Coffee with Tony," a collection of his most popular Facebook writings, hit the shelves. The book became an instant bestseller and is still in the top fives of many bookstores both online and bricks-and-mortar.

Vu Thi Thanh Thuy, a spokesperson for Lantabra, the publisher of the book, confirmed that it was a big hit. More than 40,000 copies have been sold so far and the upcoming fifth reprint of 20,000 more is being planned. In Vietnam’s relatively small publishing industry, any title that can move 15,000 copies is considered a major commercial success.

The publisher had followed Tony’s online footprints for months before finally securing the rights to republish his essays, seeing a life beyond the Internet for them. One of the conditions of the deal, Thuy said, is that her company has to keep mum about the author.

"We are fascinated by his writings and by how many young people have been inspired by him. We want more readers across the country to be uplifted by Tony's positive thinking on life and work, especially those in rural areas who haven’t read him on the Internet yet," Thuy said.

Industry insiders believe the publisher has taken quite a leap of faith with the book and some are actually surprised that it has paid off. They say publishers like authors who already have name recognition. Banking on a new writer from social media is not a good idea, much less one who refuses to appear publicly or speak to the press to promote the book.

International experts confirm that it is extremely rare in the book world to see a case like this. Peter Gordon, editor of the Asian Review of Books, said in English-speaking countries, using a pseudonym to hide one's identity is not very common.

"The reason for using a pseudonym, or nom de plume, is often that the author has a public persona and feels that the book is in some ways contradictory with it," he said.

Two recent cases, Gordon said, have been the Man Booker Prize winner John Banville and "Harry Potter" author J. K. Rowling. Both of them changed genres under a pseudonym, and both were soon unmasked because "pseudonyms in English rarely provide much privacy for very long," he said.

"But the situation in Asian countries may well be different, politically and socially, and pseudonyms may therefore play a different role. But even so, I think it will remain rare: books sales and anonymity are not always entirely compatible," Gordon said.

One can only guess as to why Tony chooses to stay hidden. No matter what the reason, if that allows him to write freely about things that he otherwise would probably keep to himself, then there’s no point wondering who he really is.

But privacy may come at the cost of believability, because who tells the story is just as important as the story itself. For someone whose social commentary has been praised as original and dead on, Tony has yet to legitimate his authority as an interpreter of events. More often than not he still feels like a fictional too-good-to-be-true character.

And yet that’s probably what his avid fans need. Tony, they say, is not an author but a funny, successful uncle whom they can reach out for moral support, over the titular symbolic cup of coffee. He is the epitome of social mobility and self improvement. He is their new role model.

The way many of his fans review the book is inexplicably similar to how devout people often describe their faith. Thuy of Lantabra, the publisher, seemed to support this far-fetched idea. “We do think this is more than just a book. It’s a kind of faith and the author is a missionary who is promoting it. We want readers to be enlightened and inspired,” she said.

If that’s the case, questions about the author and his credibility can easily be rendered invalid. When it comes to faith, storytelling is never bereft of mystery and fantasy. You either believe it, or you don’t.

2nd Vietnam Book Day opens across country

The 2nd Vietnam Book Day in Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Noi and Da Nang opened from April 18-21. On this occasion, many exchange activities are taken place, aiming to encourage and promote reading habit in the community and introduce historicak and cultural books to audiences through out the country.

This year’s festival themed “Saigon book street- Ho Chi Minh City” aims to mark the 40th Anniversary of South liberation and national reunification. (April 30).

The event attracted many publishing houses, such as Kim Dong, Nha Xuat Ban Tre (Youth Publishing House), Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House, Phuong Nam Book and more.

Many activities will be held during the event, such as workshops and talk shows, introduction of national anniversary-themed books, historical and cultural books as well as rare ancient and valuable publications.

The event is to encourage and promote reading habit in the community and raise awareness of using books as a tool for critical thinking. It will also celebrate appreciation for readers, writers, publishers, distributors, and other affiliates of the publishing industry.

The 2nd Vietnam Book Day in Hanoi also took place at Thong Nhat Park on April 17.

The book day offered a discount program to raising fund for disadvantaged students in the mountainous areas and soldiers in borders and on islands

Da Nang City also organized the 2nd Vietnam Book Day at the September 23rd Park on April 18, presenting to readers thousands of book titles; exhibition sections; introducing rare and valuable works, publications and books on Vietnam's sea, islands sovereignty.

Ha Noi sets off fireworks to celebrate National Reunification Day

The capital Ha Noi will let off fireworks atfive locations as part of activities to celebrate National Reunification Day (April 30, 1975- April 30, 2015).

The fireworks display is planned for 15-minute shows at 9:00 pm on April 30 at Hoan Kiem lake, Thong Nhat park, Van Quan Lake, My Dinh National Stadium and Son Tay Town’s Flower Garden.

A national celebration scheduled at My Dinh National Convention Center, along with arts performances, sporting events, exhibitions, and talks will be held on May 18 to celebrate the 125th birthday of late President Ho Chi Minh.

Publisher gives books by writer Son Nam to school

Tre Publishing House has given books by writer Son Nam to Nguyen Hue Elementary School in HCMC’s District 6 to start its program of bringing the late writer’s books to schools in the southern region.

The publisher is calling for enterprises to support its program by buying those books for local schools.

“Before he died (in 2008), Son Nam had transferred the copyright of all of his books to Tre Pubinlishing House for free. Now, we use the sum which should have been used to pay him to buy 200 book collections of his to schools in Kien Giang Province, Son Nam’s hometown,” said Nguyen Minh Nhut, director of Tre Publishing House.

The publisher also calls for support from enterprises to bring Son Nam’s books to schools in HCMC and other provinces in the south to help teachers and students learn more about the culture of the south, he said.

Participating firms will be offered a 40% discount and for orders of more than 500 copies, the publisher will print new copies of those books with the names of the corporate donors on the covers of the books.

The same will also apply to firms which help Tre give other books to students provided that the books are chosen by the publisher.

Born Pham Minh Tai in 1926 in Kien Giang, Son Nam studied in Can Tho City and then took part in the war against French colonial rulers. After the Geneva Agreement in 1954, he moved to Saigon to write articles and books.

He left behind many works about southern Vietnamese literature. People describe him as ‘a dictionary on the South’ for his deep knowledge of the region.