The French Institute of Vietnam has just awarded the first Vietnamese Goncourt Selection Prize to author Makenzy Orcel - a prestigious French literary award that has been internationalized.
The Goncourt Selection was conducted by national jury members from 35 different countries. The Goncourt Selection of Vietnam was conducted by about 20 students from four French or pedagogical faculties of prestigious universities in Hanoi , Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, based on a list of four works selected by the Goncourt Academy.
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| Author Makenzy Orcel takes a photo with delegates at the award ceremony on December 8 in Hanoi. (Source: Organizing Committee) |
Why is there a “Vietnamese version”?
Vietnam and France once shared a common past, a "fate" that, despite the ups and downs of history, still exists as one of the pillars for the Francophone community and creates a connecting strength between the two countries.
French classical literature also left a deep impression with Victor Hugo, Balzac, Alexandre Dumas, Stendhal, Molière... all taught in schools, known and loved by the public.
It can be felt that French culture has influenced contemporary Vietnamese literature and art in many forms: drama, modern poetry, modern novels... all of which were born in Vietnam during the colonial period and still inherit and develop from this foundation today.
As an official member of the International Organization of La Francophonie since the 1970s, today, Vietnam still prioritizes encouraging young people to learn French.
French is currently taught in 35 provinces and cities in Vietnam, of which 13 provinces and cities have bilingual classes and many intensive programs.
French is also developed through French departments at universities and high schools in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, as well as the network of French Institutes in Vietnam in the North, Central and South of the country.
In that context, Vietnam's organization of the Goncourt Selection is considered one of the strategies to strengthen French-Vietnamese academic, publishing and cultural cooperation.
Makenzy Orcel and the work A man of his heart
Makenzy Orcel, author of numerous poetry collections and novels, was born in 1983 in Port-au-Prince. From an early age, he felt the need to tell stories.
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| Cover of the work A man of his heart. |
So, from a very early age, he was interested in literature, even though he grew up in a house without books and a neighborhood without any libraries.
Sometimes, despite everything, he would find a book at the market and use it to exchange with his classmates. “I read a lot,” he said, “like crazy. Once I even fainted because I read so much that my head was burning.”
After finishing high school, Makenzy Orcel studied languages but quickly dropped out to devote himself to literature.
He once shared: “I don’t write for awards or recognition, I write because it is important; because literature is an invitation to see the world differently, to approach the world differently, to help others see through the foundations of the world .”
However, he has won many awards and titles for his works: the Littérature-Monde prize, the Louis Guilloux prize, the Fondation Simone and Cino Del duc prizes at the recommendation of the Grand Prize Committee of the French Academy, finalist for the Goncourt Prize 2022, the American Goncourt Selection...
In the work Une somme humaine (tentatively translated: A summary of a human life), through diaries that escape time and death, the main character tells of a stolen childhood, a painful adolescence, a broken life and fate.
The work is the second part of a trilogy that began with L'Ombre animale (The Animal Shadow) by Makenzy Orcel.
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