writing process

While recovering from a fever have been reflecting on my writing process during this residency so far. I have produced about five to six short stories and have started the sequel to Vixen. I'm discovering more as I go along and I realise now that my ambition to have a completed manuscript in four months is a little ambitious. From my experiences so far in Vietnam and the different insights I have gained from a number of people- I want the finished work to be a distillation of what I have learnt in Vietnam. There is a lot lying beneath the surface of Vietnam and I want to be able to capture that. I'm also willing to give the work time to gestate- previously I have been driven by market forces to complete work- but I figure if Alexis Wright's work Carpentaria took four years (and it's brilliant) then I want to have those layers of depth in my work too.

Y Ban and friends

Just gotten back from a dinner hosted by Y Ban and her sculptor husband Tran Hoang Co. Their daughter translated for me and Karen Turner whom wrote "Even the women must fight" about Vietnamese Viet Cong women fighters. The sculptures in the ground floor were amazing you can see Crocodile Dancing in the photo with Tran next to it. We did not discuss Y Ban's work since her daughter is only about 15 (Y Ban writes about abortions, affairs and domestic violence). But she has said that we will meet again and bring along an adult translator next time. She's also offered to help get my work translated into Vietnamese- which is wonderful. Here is also a picture of myself Karen and Y Ban.
Also recently I have been to Yen Tu mountain which is where the spiritual lineage of Thich Nhat Hanh comes from. The picture is of the stupas where monks remains are cremated- we did a sitting mediation there and had lunch. The scenery is breathtaking as you can see.
I also saw the largest bronze Buddha in Vietnam (pictured) and a village that is owned by a famous lacquer artistThanh Cuong. His lacquer painting is also pictured.

another blog

For those of you whom are interested in Buddhism I have created another blog
http://interbeinginvietnam.blogspot.com/
for my reflections on Buddhism. I've decided to keep it separate from this blog so I don't bore you silly if you're more interested in writing and what I've been up to instead!

thay pagodas

Visited more temples yesterday with the Gioi publishing house and friends. The pictures are of a water puppet theatre close to the pagoda, and one of the temple altars inside a cave. One of the pagodas you had to climb 327 steps to see- pretty exhausting! I am learning more and more from the sangha I'm attending and it's influencing my work a lot. I've been writing a lot of short stories so that might end up being my major output of the residency as well as the Vixen sequel.

nim binh

went on a tour yesterday to nim binh. Saw two ordinary looking pagodas dedicated to early kings of Vietnam- they were not fully restored and not as spectacular even compared to the Chua that I went to for mindfulness day. Then had a lovely rowboat ride through three caves past limestone mountains. it was a bit of a tourist trap after the third cave we were rowed straight into a flotilla of boats selling drinks and fruit and weren't left alone until we bought something. Then on the way back our rowboat produced clothing and tablecloths for us to buy! It pissed one tourist off so much she didn't tip the women when we got back to the pier. I'm sort of resigned to this stuff, I regard it as part of the deal when you go on a tour. But we also saw water buffalo, goats (yum!) ducks waddling along the road with the traffic, and a basket of dogs on the way to a restaurant (one assumes!)

living in fear- a film

Last nite saw living in fear- a Vietnamese film which was about an ex South Vietnamese vet whom has to support his two families by digging up land mines. It was a really good movie which won awards at Asian film festivals- I hope to get it on DVD and bring home to show people. It was shown at the Hanoi Cinematheque which is hidden in a laneway where you have to pass lanes of other people's houses and then emerge into this colonial space, with a square, restaurant and bar!
I've also had a local dining experience, sitting on the footpath on mats near West Lake with mopeds whizzing past, eating pho cuon- deep fried pho noodles- a hanoian speciality. I didn't get sick afterwards- and it was delicious! At the Gioi I have been proofreading satirical folk tales which make me laugh. I have also been reading Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio by Pu Songling- in translation of course- which has lots of fox tales and ghosts in it- admittedly very chauvanistic tales. Has been feeding the myth maker in me!

Y Ban

Went to a talk by the author Y Ban whom is also an editor of a newspaper the education times. It was very interesting when asked whether she dared write against the party or the mainstream she said that as a writer she had to follow the party since the party is pro democracy. She appears to be a feminist writer from her stories but her answers to some tougher questions was a bit vague- which may have been due to the male professor who was doing the translating.
She invited myself and Karen Turner to her house for dinner this time with Karen's female translator so we may be able to ask deeper questions.
This reading was held at the Bookworm- and they are going to have an author night featuring me as well!
I also will be residing in their room above the bookshop from December. Looking forward to having a kitchen and a balcony- the shop is run by two Australians whom are left leaning and very literate. Thanks heaps to Rose Moxham for putting me on to this- it should be great!

a sangha poem

Inspired by a visit to Chua Dien temple for a day of mindfulness:

the sound of the bell rings
through the hollow of the soul
confessions come from the heart's smile
the teachings of a flower in an hour
sows the seeds of enlightenment
take slow mindful steps
for the buddha, the dharma, the sangha and the soul

food in hanoi

Just had a fairly decent bun bo hue in hanoi- although the best one is made by my grandmother and my aunts of course! so here is the foody part of my blog- where to eat some great Vietnamese food in Hanoi- sitting on proper chairs (I haven't been brave enough to try the little stool stalls yet- my stomach is too delicate)

Pho 24 is a chain that has opened up in Vietnam and elsewhere and serves great pho and ice cream
Cha Ca la vong on 14 cha ca st serves fish and greens fried on this little clay stove they bring to your table- yum!
Le place near the cathedral does bun bo hue and some other Viet and Western dishes
There's a place on Hoan Kiem Lake that you can't miss that does cheapish nem (spring rolls) and ice cream
Quan An does all Vietnamese food in an outdoor setting and is cheap

Alister likes Hanoi Garden which does do great duck and dumplings

If anyone knows of anyother places espcially in Hanoi do let me know!

cool jazz

Have caught up with the ex patriate community in Hanoi. Met up with Dr Rose Moxham who is a previous Asialink resident whom gave me the lowdown on publishing in Hanoi. I also met Tuan a Vietnamese-English translator whom translated the Life Of Pi and Norwegian Wood into Vietnamese. I mentioned my work and other Vietnamese-Australians work to him and he suggested I contact Tien Ve- whose founder was refused admission to Vietnam last year! He's Australian. Rose put me in contact with the Bookworm, an english speaking bookshop and i'm hoping to maybe distribute Vixen through them. I was told they have trouble importing books still. I also caught up with the Hanoi Women's International Club- full of wives of ambassadors and government officials- met a few people I have things incommon with. The Aussie group are holding a morning tea to honour Mrs Howard- I may be going just to amuse myself!
Last night had cha ca with John and Virginia two Americans I met at the lit conference. We talked about life in Vietnam, Virginia teaches teachers English at the University and politics- they are pro-democrat. We also listened to some cool jazz at Minh's jazz bar-my first real nite out in Hanoi!

ethnic minorities

Last night went to the opening of the Danish fund for ethnic cultures at the ethnology museum. The Danish ambassador was there and we watched some dancing and singing from the Hmong people in pretty costumes- very romantic dancing with a boy and eight girls twirling parasols about. Also heard leaf singing- sort of like playing a gum leaf like you would at home- except a lot more tuneful I reckon! Unfortunately I didn't bring a camera so could not get pictures.

The postmodern avant garde music was terrible. Just drones of sound instead of music. I saw a good art exhibition at the Goethe Institute though and took back a magazine of art which is very interesting- including a piece by an artist whom had been imprisoned.

I wrote an article for the Monthly about the unusual culture of censorship here. If you're interested in reading it just let me know.

ethnology museum

I went to the Museum of Ethnology which Lien took me to (her name means Lotus). There was an interesting exhibition about the period after the war from 1975-1985 before doi moi. This public exhibition was quite open about the fact that theatre, music and literature was censored and banned during this period and view the now classics as being controversial during their time. Lien says to me the censorship is a thing of the past now. (There's just corruption instead!). Karen told me last night that censorship is erratic and that there is a new law for film makers that they cannot criticise the government.
For another view on censorship in Vietnam try this web page by Tran Vu whom is a Vietnamese-American.
http://www.apwn.net/index.php?/apwn/more/freedom_of_speech_a_perspective_of_literature_in_vietnam/
Rose Moxham has told me that her landlord was a dissident artist whom was imprisoned for four years then released. He is now under house arrest- but still goes around- but I wonder if he produces art. I have read an art magazine its first issue from the Goethe Institute which has also published the commentary of an artist whom was imprisoned and released recently.
So although I am seeing some freedom perhaps it is illusory- but then again with the ABC axing the Glasshouse I'm wondering whether we too in the West are labouring under an illusion too.

Vietnamese lit conference

Today went to a conference on Vietnamese literature which you can read the abstracts of in my previous post. It was very interesting- and as usual the conversations around it were more interesting still. Pham Thi Hoai is officially banned from publishing in Vietnam but was mentioned in three papers at this conference which was hosted by the Institute of Social Science (a government department). They were quite open about the fact that major writers and artists from Vietnam are in exile and even had conversations about homosexuality which I thought was a taboo topic here! I have made a couple of new friends including Lian who is taking me to the museum of ethnology tomorrow and is doing a masters in festivals. There were two papers about archetypes in Vietnamese folklore which were very interesting and directly feeding into my work. It seems that my work comes from a long line of using folklore as allegory, parody or pastiche- it is considered very postmodern in Vietnam.
I met an american Karen Turner who has done a book and a film on Vietnamese women who fought on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. She had some interesting insights to add on Vietnam. She has a Vietnamese collaborator- and she informed me that the book came out in the US and then the Gioi published it in Vietnam without informing her!?! One of her contacts is initiating a law against domestic violence which she cynically says the National Assembly will pass it because they want to join the WTO. She said that now is probably the best time to be in Hanoi because of APEC, Hanoi will be more open than usual etc etc. She mentioned that most of her work is done unofficially because if you ask for permission to do anything it takes forever!

Vietnamese literature conference

Long Pham from the Gioi has told me about a literature conference that is being held tomorrow and Saturday. Tomorrow it is impossible to go he has been informed but I'm going on Saturday and praying that most of it will be in English (it is co hosted by Harvard so there's a good chance some papers will be in English).
If you are interested in the summaries here is the bookmark for some of the summaries of the papers in English- already what little reading I've done unwraps a whole world of literature that is inaccessible most of the time to us.

http://www.vienvanhoc.org.vn/reader/?id=142&menu=109

this one is about folktales and oral literature- very interesting to my work and even taps into Vietnamese archetypes! Those of you who can read Vietnamese can read all of the site and I'm envious!

folk festivals

Today the Gioi has me editing descriptions of folk festivals in central and Southern Vietnam. It has been very informative- I have not heard of any of them and they are not listed in the Lonely Planet! The most interesting details to me is how they suspect that some of the festivals originated with the Cham people whom were here before the Vietnamese- especially with Goddess worship. The text has been forthcoming in describing that the rituals and texts have been made over by the Confucians, Buddhists and lastly the Communists. One particular Goddess statue that has been worshipped is actually suspected to be a statue of a man with Indian influences- but in the mid 20th century an artisan has altered it to be more feminine. One particular motif that keeps reoccurring in Vietnamese folklore and myths is of women self sacrificing. I think this is the Confucian ethics at work- as a Western feminist I am grappling with the fact that the Trung sisters the most famous heroines of Vietnam committed suicide rather than give in to the Chinese. Committing suicide in certain circumstances is seen as sacrificial, honourable, to be celebrated and desirable- witness the Buddhist immolations in the sixties. I think that the self sacrificing ethic is one that clashes with Western individuation and causes lots of problems for women (and not only Vietnamese women!)

perfume pagoda