The Vietnam - US literature forum, themed “Look back and develop”,took place on Mar. 9 in Hue City , with the participation of manypoets and writers from Vietnam and the US .

The event aims to mark the 20th anniversary of the bilateral tiesbetween between the Vietnam Writers Association (VWA) and the WilliamJoiner Center for the Study of War and Social Consequences, a US NGOthat gathers many big names in the US literary circle such as GracePaley, Larry Heineman, Tim O’Brien, Bruce Weigl among others.

Reviewing the 20-year process of literature exchange, VWA President,poet Huu Thinh said that during the past two decades, Vietnam and theUS literature devotees have done a good job of replacing the war inthe past with a friendly literature exchange.

In thepast 20 years, the William Joiner Center for the Study of War andSocial Consequences has cooperated with the VWA to translate and presentworks by Vietnamese writers to US readers, with the aim of helping themto understand more about the nature of Vietnam’s just war, as well asexpressing Vietnam’s goodwill to promote the two countries’ relations.

US writers have also had great contributions tothe process of the two countries’ literature exchange, especially in thelifting of the US trade embargo. The William Joiner Center has alsobeen involved in many activities to heal the war pains in Vietnam,including asking US companies to accept responsibility for VietnameseAgent Orange victims and supporting disadvantaged children who sufferfrom the impact of war.-VNA