Phạm Xuân Nguyên (born 15 May 1958), better known by his

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Ngân Xuyên, is a Vietnamese writer and literary translator.

Personal life and career

Phạm Xuân Nguyên was born in Nghệ An Province. He did his early education in neighbouring

Hà Tĩnh Province Hà is a Vietnamese given name, male or female, meaning "river". Hà is a Vietnamese 'surname' (during French colonialism). The name is transliterated as He in Chinese and Ha in Korean. Ha is the anglicized variation of the surname Hà. It is ...

, where in grade 6 and again in grade 10 he won district and provincial awards for writing. He studied

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

as his foreign language in high school, and continued learning it as a student in the literature department of the University of Hanoi ('' Trường Đại học Tổng hợp Hà Nội'', now part of the

Vietnam National University, Hanoi Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU; , ĐHQGHN) is a public research university system in Hanoi, Vietnam. The university system has 10 member universities and faculties. VNU is one of two Vietnam's national universities, the other one being ...

). He interrupted his university studies to serve in the

People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army (VPA; , , ), also recognized as the Vietnamese Army (), the People's Army () or colloquially the Troops ( ), is the national Military, military force of the Vietnam, S ...

from 1978 to 1982, and was stationed in

Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

. During that period, he began teaching himself French, and had his first translations of

French poetry French poetry () is a category of French literature. It may include Francophone literature, Francophone poetry composed outside France and poetry written in other languages of France. French prosody and poetics The modern French language does not ...

published in the newspaper '' Tiền Phong''. He went on to become chairman of the Hanoi Writers' Association ''(Hội Nhà văn Hà Nội)''.

Works

Phạm Xuân Nguyên speaks Russian, French, and English, and has translated works from all of those languages into Vietnamese. He was first exposed to the works of

Milan Kundera Milan Kundera ( ; ; 1 April 1929 – 11 July 2023) was a Czech and French novelist. Kundera went into exile in France in 1975, acquiring citizenship in 1981. His Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, but he was granted Czech citizenship ...

in their Russian translations in the

Union of Russian Writers The Union of Russian Writers () is a non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage o ...

journal ''Foreign Literature'' (« Иностранная литература»), and himself translated ''

Immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some species possess "biological immortality" due to an apparent lack of the Hayflick limit. From at least the time of the Ancient Mesopotamian religion, ancient Mesopotamians, there has been a con ...

'' (which was originally in

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

) into Vietnamese from the Russian version. After he spent more than thirty years translating the works of others under his pen name, his first book of his own under his real name, ''Nhà văn như Thị Nở'' (meaning "A Writer like Thị Nở"), was published in 2014. The title is a reference to the character Thị Nở in Nam Cao's 1941 short story '' Chí Phèo'', a woman who is well known for her unattractive appearance. ''Nhà văn như Thị Nở'' is a collection of essays of

literary criticism A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature's ...

, discussing fifty-one Vietnamese writers including Nam Trân, Thế Lữ,

Hải Triều Hai Trieu (October 1, 1908 - August 6, 1954), real name Nguyen Khoa Van, was a Vietnamese journalist, Marxist theorist, literary critic. He was a pioneering theorist in Vietnam's revolutionary journalism, especially through two debates that resonat ...

, Hoài Thanh, Nguyễn Tuân, Trương Tửu, Bích Khê, Xuân Diệu,

Tố Hữu Tố Hữu (4 October 1920 – 9 December 2002) was a Vietnam, Vietnamese revolutionary poet and politician. Tố Hữu is considered one of the most important Vietnamese poets of the 20th century. His poems are known for their lyrical beauty, ...

, Nguyễn Huy Tưởng, Nguyễn Hữu Đang, Hoàng Cầm, Trần Dần, Lê Đạt, Phùng Quán, Bùi Ngọc Tấn, Nguyễn Xuân Khánh, Dương Tường, Bảo Ninh, Nguyễn Quang Lập, and Vi Thùy Linh. Nguyên stated that it took him so long to come out with the book because he was too lazy to collect his previous essays and edit them into a coherent whole; in particular, he mentioned the World Cup season as one of the various reasons for his delays in submitting the final version to the publisher Nhã Nam for printing. Editor Diệu Thủy stated that the whole process took more than four years, and that at one time she even jokingly threatened to burn down Nguyên's house in an effort to get him to submit a draft.

List of translations

*1999: ''

'', '' Slowness'', and ''

Identity Identity may refer to: * Identity document * Identity (philosophy) * Identity (social science) * Identity (mathematics) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film * ''Identity'' (2003 film), an ...

'' (

) *2000: ''Nerves and Senses'' ( Steve Parker) *2001: ''Testaments Betrayed'' (, Milan Kundera) *2001: ''An Idea for Seven Million'' (, ) *2002: ''Dinosaur'' ( David B. Norman and Angela Milner) *2004: '' The Fifth Mountain'' (

Paulo Coelho Paulo Coelho de Souza ( , ; born 24 August 1947) is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist and a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters since 2002. His 1988 novel '' The Alchemist'' became an international best-seller. Early life Paulo Coelho ...

) *2004: '' Interpreter of Maladies'' (

Jhumpa Lahiri Nilanjana Sudeshna "Jhumpa" LahiriMinzesheimer, Bob, ''USA Today'', August 19, 2003. Retrieved on 2008-04-13. (born July 11, 1967) is a British-American author known for her short stories, novels, and essays in English and, more recently, in I ...

) *2006: ''Introducing Kierkegaard'' (

Oscar Zárate Oscar Zárate (born 1942) is an Argentine comic book artist and illustrator. Zarate studied architecture and had a successful career in advertising in Argentina. He moved to Europe in 1971 and began to work in earnest as an illustrator. He has dra ...

and Dave Robinson) *2008: '' Sputnik Sweetheart'' (

Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer. His novels, essays, and short stories have been best-sellers in Japan and internationally, with his work translated into 50 languages and having sold millions of copies outside Japan. He has received numerous awards for hi ...

) *2008: '' The Postmodern Condition'' (

Jean-François Lyotard Jean-François Lyotard (; ; 10 August 1924 – 21 April 1998) was a French philosopher, sociologist, and literary theorist. His interdisciplinary discourse spans such topics as epistemology and communication, the human body, modern art and p ...

) *2012: '' The Lady, or the Tiger?'' ( Frank Stockton) *2013: ''Literature and Evil'' ('' La Littérature et le Mal'',

Georges Bataille Georges Albert Maurice Victor Bataille (; ; 10 September 1897 – 8 July 1962) was a French philosopher and intellectual working in philosophy, literature, sociology, anthropology, and history of art. His writing, which included essays, novels, ...

)

References

Full citations of translated works:

External links

Personal blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pham, Xuan Nguyen 1956 births Living people 20th-century essayists 20th-century Vietnamese male writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century translators 20th-century Vietnamese writers 21st-century essayists 21st-century Vietnamese male writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century translators 21st-century Vietnamese writers Chairpersons of organizations French poetry French–Vietnamese translators Literary translators Male essayists People from Nghệ An province Russian novels Russian–Vietnamese translators Translators from English Translators of philosophy Vietnamese essayists Vietnamese translators Vietnam National University, Hanoi alumni Writers from Ho Chi Minh City