New collection of war poet’s work

      The biggest collection of writing by late poet Pham Tien Duat has been released.
Duat was renowned for his poems on the hard life and resolve of Vietnamese soldiers travelling the Truong Son Trail during the American War.
The work, published by the Viet Nam Writers' Association, was compiled by association member Do Trung Lai, Nguyen Van Long, from Ha Noi Pedagogy College, Luu Khanh Tho, from the Literature Institute, and writer Pham Song Hong, from the Writers' Association Publishing House.
The collection, comprising 1,132 pages, features two main sections.
The first, Pham Tien Duat Writes, includes 139 poems and epics from hundreds of his poetic works written between 1964 and 1975 when he travelled south with the liberation troops. It also covers his prose, short essays and articles.
There are also unpublished poems like Vong Trang (White Circle) and Voi Khanh Ly (With Khanh Ly) as well as his last poems like Ao Dai That Vat (Tied up Long Dress), Mau Dao (Red Blood) and Hoa Sy (Painter).
The second part, Writings about Pham Tien Duat, gathers 62 pieces of work about him by other writers and critics like Huu Thinh, Nguyen Quang Thieu, Nguyen Chi Trung and Nguyen Hoang Son.
While on the trail to the southern battlefields, Duat composed hundreds of poems to record the life, hardships, loves and strong will of the Vietnamese soldiers to unite the country.
Duat was nicknamed "The Man of Truong Son", "Truong Son Fire Bird" and the pride of the writers generation of the American War period.
He published various collections including Vang Trang Quang Lua (Moon and Fire Circle) and O Hai Dau Nui (In Two Side of The Mountain).
Duat, who died of lung cancer in December 2007, was born in 1941 in the northern province of Phu Tho.
After he graduated from the Ha Noi Pedagogy College he joined the army. He became a Viet Nam Writers' Association member in 1970.