Closing Ceremony of the 3rd Conference on Literary Theory and Criticism

After nearly two days of work, the 3rd Conference on Literary Theory and Criticism concluded on the morning of June 5th in Tam Dao, Vinh Phuc.

On the morning of June 5th, more than half of the conference time was dedicated to young literary critics. Critics such as Tran Thien Khanh, Doan Anh Duong, Phan Tuan Anh, etc., had the opportunity to express their thoughts and views on the reality of teaching literary criticism in universities – areas that need change; literature that is relevant to life but not vulgar literature; new approaches in specialized research; the lives of those working in literary criticism…

Critic Huynh Thi Thu Hau from Quang Nam University shared that finding a true critic is difficult, but even if you do find one, few would pursue the field and make a living from it.

"We teach, research, and write literary criticism all at the same time. Teaching provides a salary, which we use to fund our literary criticism. However, the funding for research papers or conference contributions is very low. That amount is insufficient to compensate for the time, intellectual effort, and contributions of the literary criticism team," said literary critic Huynh Thi Thu Hau.

Poet Huu Thinh - President of the Vietnam Writers Association, delivered a speech.

With the theme "Improving the Quality and Effectiveness of Literary Criticism," the 3rd Conference on Literary Criticism attracted more than 60 papers, addressing many aspects of literary criticism, including many topics of public interest such as: literary criticism - the need to correctly identify its nature; literary translation criticism; literary criticism contributing to the promotion of reading culture; the current state of minority literary criticism…

Poet Huu Thinh, President of the Vietnam Writers Association, affirmed that many issues in contemporary literature are being handled more transparently. The protection of writers and poets with innovative approaches, such as Nguyen Ngoc Tu, Hoang Minh Tuong, and Nguyen Viet Chien, along with their works, has benefited greatly from the contributions of literary critics. Professionalization in the future will be a crucial factor in improving the quality and effectiveness of literary criticism and theory.

“Our entire literary landscape must be professionalized. First and foremost is literary criticism. To achieve this, we must broaden the theoretical framework. Secondly, we must strengthen dialogue, even with works that present challenges. Thirdly, and I would like to reiterate Professor Tran Dinh Su's opinion, literary criticism must contribute to building a new system of values. But first and foremost, approaching a literary work must not go beyond three issues: ideology, art, and language,” added poet Huu Thinh.

According to (vov.vn) - M.D