Introduction
Nguyễn Quang Sáng was a Vietnamese writer and screenwriter, widely known for the short story Chiếc lược ngà and the film screenplay Cánh đồng hoang. The poet Hữu Thỉnh, chairman of the Vietnam Writers' Association, called him "the writer of the Southern Delta," noting that his writing carried the breath, style, and speech of the people of southern Vietnam.
Career
According to his own account in the Vietnam Writers' Association yearbook, Nguyễn Quang Sáng began writing in 1952 while in the U Minh forest. His first short story, Con chim vàng, was published in the journal Văn nghệ in 1956. He wrote by hand and often pursued a story for years before putting it to paper. During the war, finished manuscripts were sent by radio operators to Hà Nội, so that within a week readers in the South could hear Chiếc lược ngà broadcast over the radio.
He emphasized lived experience in writing: "I love details. Writing without striking details is no different from an editorial." He avoided the phrase "going on field trips for writing," insisting that one must truly live in reality to have enough material.
His prose works include Con chim vàng, Người quê hương, Nhật ký người ở lại, Đất lửa, Chiếc lược ngà, Bông cẩm thạch, Cái áo thằng hình rơm, Mùa gió chướng, Người con đi xa, Dòng sông thơ ấu, Bàn thờ tổ của một cô đào, Tôi thích làm vua, 25 truyện ngắn, Paris - tiếng hát Trịnh Công Sơn, Con mèo của Foujita, and Nhà văn về làng. His screenplays include Cánh đồng hoang, Pho tượng, Cho đến bao giờ, Mùa nước nổi, Dòng sông hát, Câu nói dối đầu tiên, Thời thơ ấu, Giữa dòng, Như một huyền thoại, Con khỉ mồ côi, and the 30-episode television series Khoảnh khắc Võ Văn Kiệt.
Cánh đồng hoang
According to poet and screenwriter Nguyễn Thị Hồng Ngát, the screenplay Cánh đồng hoang grew out of the friendship and mutual respect between Nguyễn Quang Sáng and director Hồng Sến. The film, about a small family living on a floating hut in the Đồng Tháp Mười wetlands, became a classic of Vietnamese cinema. Hồng Ngát described his screenplay as "brimming with imagery" and said that although he only passed through cinema, he left a brilliant mark.
Life and character
Friends and colleagues described Nguyễn Quang Sáng as someone who "worked with all his might and played with all his heart," embodying the spirit of a southern Vietnamese "anh Hai." He described himself as writing "for fun," yet was regarded as a serious writer. In his later years he moved to District 7, Ho Chi Minh City. In 2008 he joined a trip across the Mekong Delta with a company rebuilding monkey bridges for local residents. The poet Hữu Thỉnh remarked: "Reading his work feels like coming into contact with real life, with the true breath of life."