From old topics to new perspectives on workers
When mentioning worker literature, many people have thought of works associated with construction sites, factories or workers in the state sector. Also because of this, there was a time when this literary genre fell into a state of silence when many writers switched to pursuing topics that were considered more attractive and trendy.
Writer Duong Huong is a veteran writer of Vietnamese literature, who has won many major literary awards. With many years of attachment to the theme of workers and having participated in the jury of the writing contest about workers and trade unions organized by Lao Dong Newspaper in the period 2021 - 2023, he believes that the return of this literary genre in recent years is a noteworthy sign.
According to him, the biggest change today is that the view of workers has become much broader than before. If in the past workers were often associated with construction sites, factories or state sectors, now, working life has expanded to many different fields and components in society.
Today's workers not only work in construction sites and factories but also in foreign corporations, in many different new fields. Through the writing contest about workers and trade unions, I see that many authors have reflected the lives of workers more deeply and realistically than before.
The works are also richer, writing about many fields and many different angles of life. That is what makes literature about workers have more new approaches," writer Duong Huong shared.
According to writer Duong Huong, literature written about workers once had a rather quiet period when many authors said that this was an old topic, difficult to create attraction in the context of modern life changing rapidly. The development of technology, social networks and new trends in life have caused many writers to switch to pursuing love, urban topics or issues that are considered more trendy.
However, the writer believes that what determines the vitality of literature is not whether the topic is new or old, but the way the writer approaches and expresses the work.
In recent years, many writers have proven that the topic of workers can be approached in a completely new way. There are authors who are originally workers but bring a completely different perspective from before, going deep into issues that few people mention. That shows that the topic of workers is never old, the important thing lies in the writer's approach," he said.
Reality shows that what is changing is not the worker theme itself but the way literature approaches workers in modern society. As labor life becomes more diverse, shifting and more stressful, literature about workers also faces the requirement to step out of old molds to more truthfully reflect the breath of contemporary life.
The writer must delve into the lives of workers.
Not only stopping at reflecting the lives of workers according to familiar motifs, writer Duong Huong believes that literature about trade unions and workers today needs to go deeper into the reality of life, including existing issues or sensitive aspects.
According to him, to have more truly new and quality works, not only writers but also people working in trade unions and organizing literary activities need to innovate their thinking and have a more open approach to literature.
The writer expressed: "Currently, the number of freelancers is very large, workers work in many different fields, so if we still maintain the old view, it will not fully reflect the reality of life. There are topics that were previously exploited by few people, so now we need to boldly go deeper. Life today is very rich, the country is integrated with many different working people, so the material for literature is not lacking at all.
According to writer Duong Huong, to encourage writers to innovate, it is necessary to have a more open view of new approaches in literature, especially works that dare to delve into the thorny issues of workers' lives.
The ultimate goal of literature is still to closely follow contemporary life, reflect the breath of life and create empathy with readers. Writers must delve deep into the lives of workers, understand them, empathize with them and write works that are humane and close to readers," he said.
The writer believes that the most important thing in literature about workers and laborers is not in choosing "new" or "old" topics, but in the depth of experience and empathy of the writer.
When the writer truly enters labor life, sees the changes and aspirations of today's workers, the work has the ability to touch readers and create long-term value for worker literature in the new context.
