Love has warmed and guided people through the pandemic

Bao can be called a "killer" writer, what is more special is that many readers always find their own silhouettes in his stories. Why did you do that?

- Honestly, I am not “trying to win” anything. It is just a bit of good fortune that I have on the writing path. I write very instinctively, with the emotions I have gathered in this life. My writing materials also revolve around everyday stories that I hear, see and sometimes am a part of. I think what is written from the heart will touch the heart.

Is writing a refuge for your soul because as you once confided to the media: “Luckily being a writer, that is the moment I let go of the fatigue of life, to be free with words to find literary joy”? And besides literature, where do you feel joy and peace?

- I think all of us need to have quiet spaces and private corners after the hardships of making a living. In that quiet space or in their own corner, some people choose long trips, coffee sessions, or they choose to sing, cook... to vent their feelings. I choose writing. You can call it a private realm for yourself to take refuge in. Or consider it a way for me to relieve the pressures of life and the hidden secrets that are normally difficult to share with anyone. Strangely, every time I feel my mind is heavy, I temporarily ignore those tensions. I started writing something that would help my soul soar. When I write a work, I feel my mind light and my heart at peace. I rebalanced my life. Perhaps besides literature, home is where I feel at peace. I often find joy in my own family.

He writes on a variety of topics with empathy and sharing. Can it be said that his eternal theme is love? For you, can love really save the world, especially during the COVID-19 epidemic?

- Diversity of topics is something that all writers aim for and exploit to renew themselves. But no matter how we change the subject, it is difficult to escape the word "Love". Because it is a truth that covers everything the author writes. Love life, love nature, love truth, love people, and love yourself. Because "Love" covers everything in this life, it is true that even though it has not reached the level of salvation, it is love that has warmed and guided people through the COVID-19 pandemic in the most humane way. Originating from the love of blood and blood for fellow countrymen, even in the midst of a difficult epidemic, people know how to share, support and take care of each other in the most practical way. Many support shipments everywhere, many free food gift packages and zero-dollar bus trips to transport patients, all stem from the "Love" that I saw right when Ho Chi Minh City was surrounded by an epidemic.

“A whole world of love”, “We call each other honey”, “If Saigon still loves you, then come back…” - his book titles are so sweet. Did you spend a lot of time naming the book? And you can talk more about the reader's effect with the book "Saigon, if you still love it, go home!" Released on the occasion of Saigon's epidemic prevention quarantine?

- Naming books requires a lot of care and selection to suit the topic of the book. Sometimes it takes a lot of time and effort. There are books whose titles come by chance and as if by fate. For example, the book "If you still love Saigon, go home". Because right from the beginning, when choosing articles for this book, I also considered many titles so that there would be something very unique among the countless books about Saigon. In the end, I decided to use an article that won a prize in a contest as the title of the book.

Sometimes it was fate that in April 2021, the book was published in the midst of the pandemic in Saigon. Until the city was socially distanced and locked down, some chose to stay, others went back to their hometowns. At the peak of the pandemic, many readers everywhere sought to buy the book from many distribution channels, even inboxing me to ask for the book. In fact, at that time, it was the moment when people told each other to return as long as they still loved Saigon. This city is inherently a place where migrants from all over come to live, to pursue their dreams in life.

Readers appreciate his strong Southwestern writing voice even though he was born and has lived in Saigon for over 30 years. Is that an important factor in creating your own style?

- I have both paternal and maternal roots in the West. Even though he was born and mainly lived in Saigon, when he was a child, he was sent to the West for three summer months every year so that his parents in Saigon could find food. Later, when he grew up, he had the opportunity to roam around the Western provinces and meet many friends from that region. Even my family now uses the entire Western text to talk together. I think it is my childhood memories along with my current communication that gives me a natural Southern accent as it flows through my veins. When I started writing my first short stories, the words that came to mind were still of the West. I often joke with my fellow writers that "karma" tells me what I want to do, but I don't get to choose anything.

Your concept of creation? Which writer really inspires you?

- I simply write to satisfy my thoughts, what I see and luckily, it is accepted by readers. Writing for me is a journey to find joy. And who doesn't want to be happy in this life? Through their works, every writer wants to convey a message to this life. Spread humanity, display goodness, and remind us of the kindness around us. I was lucky to learn this from writer Luu Thi Luong, who in the past kindly guided me when I didn't know what literature was and was extremely naughty. Later, I was taught wholeheartedly by poet Ho Thi Ca and writer Doan Thach Bien, who was also devoted to a young writer. All three of them gave me faith in the path of writing so that I could persevere in writing.

It is known that Bao uses his writing royalties to set up a fund and calls on many writers to contribute to the "Saigon of Love" fund. Can you tell us more about this charity activity?

- Writing is my favorite hobby. I completely separate what I write from what I do to make a living. If work gives me a relatively stable material life, then writing gives me mental peace. I keep holding in my heart a perhaps old notion that if you want to write decent prose, you must at least live a decent life first. I always set aside royalties from articles published in good newspapers from awards I am lucky enough to receive into a separate fund to do small, kind and interesting things. Actually not a big deal compared to what many other people have done. But at least I see that my words have some meaning to this life. Adding to the fate of meeting, I also received the collective support from the older generations... Everyone worked together to do kind things by selling their books to support the fund, or calling together whenever there was a need. Volunteer projects need to spread.

- Thank you Bao and hope you continue to be creative and live happily!