Writer Y Ban: "I lost my romance a long time ago"

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First of all, congratulations on your short story collection On the Top of the Sky and your recent awards. After nearly three decades of writing, how do you see yourself changing since your early days?

What hasn't changed is that the emotions in the words still attract me, although it's undeniable that some short stories are still quite bland (laughs). That's because whenever I need to write, I write, write as a need! I'm not sure what has changed. Maybe I've become more experienced, know more things and become more "venomous" so I don't allow myself to compromise?

In On Top of the Sky, your characters are extremely diverse, from the highlands to the city to the village, from people who suffer many tragedies to bright stories... Can you share where you got those materials from and how you filtered them?

I am the type of person who lives before writing, so my first inspiration is to live first. I live very instinctively, doing whatever I like! I hang out at cafes from morning to afternoon, "chat" about all kinds of things in life, then come home at night to watch romantic movies or listen to bolero music... During the Covid-19 pandemic, I often watch TV series from 8 to 10 hours a day, which sometimes makes my eyes stiff, squint, or droop. When I get bored of watching movies, I switch to drawing or knitting, when I get bored of everything, I... tease my husband and children (laughs). In short, I am an extremely ordinary woman!

After 3 decades of writing, the emotions of the words still captivate writer Y Ban.

PHOTO: NVCC

I'm a bit skeptical about these two words "mediocre"... You also worked as a journalist for a while, surely this matter also had a lot of influence?

Yes. I have been a professional journalist for more than 20 years. That is the time for me to accumulate stories. I have been to the most remote places since the time when traveling was very difficult. The stories that I thought were forgotten suddenly came back to my mind with a lingering feeling and I had to find all kinds of ways to write them down.

Perhaps from these things, reading your literature, one seems to see all the good and bad of this life. Honestly, for you, does literature have "forbidden zones"?

Not in my case!

Surely, because she always chooses a very different direction. For example, although folklore is deeply rooted in her literature, it is used in a very different way, not as a spiritual anchor but as a "lifeline" for characters when they are at their wits' end. Is that so?

You can say that you have read and understood Y Ban! For me, the people are the nation. How can I be indifferent and turn my back on them? I am always attracted and my inspiration for writing always starts from there.

Your second part is a harsh reality, both pitiful and angry. I am very angry but also very sympathetic. Life has many paths, why don't you take the bright path and keep running into the bushes? The more failures, the more confused they become because it seems like they have nowhere left to cling to...

As you just said, the imprint of harsh reality pervades your work. Do you think literature can make the world less chaotic like some of your positive short stories?

I lost my sense of romance long ago… Literature nowadays can only help to forget for a moment something that is haunting me.

On Top of the Sky

PHOTO: TAO DAN

You said you were "an extremely ordinary woman" but your writings are anything but ordinary. How many awards have fallen to you, how many research papers have been done on your works, from the contemplative writing style in Spring from the Afternoon to the deconstruction in ABCD ... For you, what role does creativity play in literature?

Like the way of life, creativity is also instinctive to me. When I think I will do it, I will do it by all means. I am not afraid of failure. Many writers, when they have achieved certain achievements, will be very afraid of failure without knowing that art always contains creativity within it, and stopping is failure.

I'll let you in on a little secret, every time I start writing a new piece, I'm always in the state of a first-time writer, I don't put any effort into it. I just write, whatever comes out! That's what helps me. I'm in the most comfortable mood to write.

Comfort is one thing, but surely with works that have special structures, you will also have a special feeling that is different from the themes that you are familiar with?

Interesting question, let me think about it… It seems like yes! Yes. I got into a game. For example, when I wrote ABCD , I had a lot of fun messing up the alphabet. Instead of ABC, it was DFXZ. One side of my brain was chasing the story, while the other side was rubbing the alphabet like mahjong (laughs).

How did the above "game" come about, did she run the game herself or was she just a player who came to it by chance?

I didn’t plan anything in the beginning. I came to literature when I was a lecturer at the Medical School, I read a lot and also realized one thing, if I write like this, I can write too! I tried to write, just tried to write in my own way. I couldn’t believe that I was successful. From then on, the first short stories like The Magical Woman or The Letter to Mother Au Co shaped my writing style. It was that difference that made me successful.

Mentioning The Letter to Mother Au Co is also mentioning her most successful and famous short story. It also brought her the title as one of the best short story writers. What do you think about that?

I don't care about titles. For me, when I finish a work, I have completed my mission as a writer, and the rest is up to the readers and critics.

Novels and short story collections by writer Y Ban

Although not interested, she is still recognized by many as a writer who writes for women with a lot of sympathy. On the other hand, is her view of men quite negative? For example, in the book On the Top of the Sky, we see a nouveau riche stingy old man in Portrait of a Stolen Man , see the weak professor husband in The Goblin, see the absence of the husband in Red Sunset or the haunting punishment in The Cow Mistake ?

I am a traditional woman. I have a husband and sons and love them very much. Maybe I wanted to create a highlight and contrast so I "put them down" a little!

So for those who don't know, do you mind being called a radical feminist writer?

I've been labeled with so many things already, what's the harm in adding one more! (laughs)

I would also like to ask more about The Heavenly Fleet - a short story featured in On the Top of the Sky . This is a work that has created an effect similar to the one in The Letter to Mother Au Co that you achieved more than 2 decades ago after it appeared in the Viet & Doc publication of the Vietnam Writers Association 4 years ago. Do you find it satisfying?

The short story The Thousand Mile Squad talks about the extremely noble sacrifice of women in war. Those beautiful girls have a great instinct: They understand and appreciate every value of life as well as the ego so that when they have them, they will have complete happiness… But for a higher reason, they chose to sacrifice.

In addition, The Naming of the Souls in this collection also talks about women, but I want to bring to the readers another cultural level. At this cultural level, it is like peeling the layers of an onion, so spicy that tears come to your eyes…

I am a woman

PHOTO: TAO DAN

Although you said you "broke up" with your works after finishing them, do you often listen to what people say about you? For example, many of your works put characters in thrilling, dramatic situations. Those who understand think you are recreating the myriad of things in this life, but those who don't understand think you are siding with women simply to "attract readers"?

Writers "make" works just like factories make products. So do they also have the right to make their creations attractive? Do they also have the right to have tricks and gimmicks? I'm just joking! "Making" literature is very difficult, and with my nature, it's even more impossible to please everyone!

Thank you for this conversation!