Vietnam's writers, poets largely unknown on literary stage          Vietnam's writers remain largely unknown in the world of literature and more must be done to get them to a wider audience that knows little of the country's rich literary tradition, and its stories that go beyond war and suffering but touch the simplicity of natural beauty and the human condition, said writers, critics and translators at a literary conference in Hanoi this week.  Foreign writers were well known in Vietnam, but the same could not be said on Vietnam's writing among readers abroad. There was considerable discussion on the sidelines of the Second Asia Pacific Poetry Festival in Hanoi, and at the Vietnam Writers' Association's parallel International Conference to Introduce Vietnamese Literature. International Conference to Introduce Vietnamese Literature Poet Nguyen Huu Thinh said Vietnam should not just consume world literature but participate in it. "I believe that while Vietnam wants to know about the world, the world also wants to understand Vietnam." But there are few avenues available for Vietnam's writers to reach foreign audiences. Translator Lam Quang My, who works in Polish, said, "We have a contingent of experienced translators of foreign literary works to serve Vietnamese readers, but the number of Vietnamese literary works introduced worldwide remains modest, particularly in poetry." Few fans of literature have access to Vietnamese writers, and apart from The Sorrow of War (Nỗi buồn chiến tranh), by Bao Ninh, and the wartime dairy of Dang Thuy Tram, writers from Vietnam get little space in foreign bookstores, perpetuating an image that Vietnam has only war and neglecting the country's diversified and abundant treasure of folk literature and contemporary life as brilliantly captured by a contingent of young writers.   Writer Phong Diep said that during an exchange with French readers during a recent trip to Paris, she was surprised how little they knew about Vietnam literature, even though French translators were more active in the field than English. Diep said one bookstore in Paris, which had an extensive range of writing from Asia, there were many books by writers in Japan, South Korea and China, but only a few from Vietnam. Translator Nguyen Le said it was hard to get publishers interested in Vietnamese literature because so little was know about the genre and, as a consequence, there had been little opportunity to get exposure to create a demand for it. Few writers are known outside Vietnam and even foreign delegates at the conference found it hard to name them -- To Hoai, Nguyen Huy Thiep, Bao Ninh, Che Lan Vien, Nguyen Dinh Thi or Tran Dang Khoa were among the most mentioned. Delegates urged greater efforts by publishers and agents to promote Vietnamese literature worldwide, and help writers, translators and editors introduce new and locally established writers to the world stage. However, a scarcity of funding is hampering attempts to produce world-standard publishable works. Writers, translators and editors cannot be expected to work for free or to accept payments far below those made to foreign writers using Vietnamese or Asian themes, as is becoming common in the Asia region and hints at exploitation. There are individual efforts to develop an effective and sustainable model to achieve adequate and sustainable financial rewards for local writers, with results expected to be seen hopefully within the year.       dtinews.vn