PEOPLE in the NEWS : THE PHONG: WRITER GOES HIS OWN WAY ....

SAIGON DAILY NEWS

No 1332  Friday, September 13,,  1968

                        PEOPLE Iin the NEWS

                       Writer goes in his own way

                         THEPHONG

The Phong is a Vietnamese novelist and poet.   He has published four books in English but " OK " may be the only English word he knews.

His newest book entitled " I was an  American militiaman "  is a translation from Vietnamese by Dam Xuan Can, now a lecturer in vietnamese in Australia.

The Phong considers himself an American militiaman simply because he was employed by Americans.  For two years  he was lecturer in politics at the Vung Tau Training Center whcih produced cadres for the government' s  pacification program.  He was thus in a vantage position to assess the chances of the program, and his book is a tough but constructive warning to the authorities concerned.

The Phong' s other books published in English include a collection of poems two of which appeared in the April 1968 of the issue  of the TENGGARA -- means Southeast  --  a literature review printede by the University of Malaya, and the publishers of TENGGARA " hope to publish more of The Phong's work in the near future ."

 The 30 -year- old  writer, a father of two, is also well-known for this particular point :  his books always appear in mimeographed form.  Since 1954, his

Dai Nam Publishing House has produced over forty books in this form, of which five have been translated into English.

The Phong is now an airman, working with the Press Office of the Vietnamese Air Force and spend most of his time to write and " to educate my two sons so that they will be better citizens, or at least better than their rather ."

SAIGON DAILY NEWS

No 1332 ,  September 13,  1968.