Short stories fill a long sentence

by Phung Nguyen

The write stuff: Prisoner Pham Ngoc Dinh writes a short-story collection with paper taken from used magazines in the prison. — File Photo

But Pham Ngoc Dinh, 49, was able to do just that, and had a bounty of material, as his own life is as tragic as the characters in his collection.

After four-and-half years in prison, Dinh began writing his first-ever short-story collection Den va Trang (Black and White) with paper taken from used magazines in the prison.

Dinh painstakingly split the heavy, glossy pages from fashion magazines into two pages and used the white backs of the paper to write on. It took more than a month to prepare the paper, he said.

It was during the cold days in prison that he decided to write a book for the young generation on how to get rich through business. He thought that no such work had been written.

While he never felt fear when he was working as a gangster, he experienced nervousness when he took pen to paper.

"I was so anxious and shameful although there was only me in the room. I hadn't read or written for several years and in front of me was the gloomy fog. I didn't know how to complete the task," Dinh told Tien Phong newspaper.

He said he was obsessed about being able to finish the book, and thought of each day as his last, knowing that he would face execution.

Day after day, Dinh began writing from dawn to 10pm. Some days, he wrote 15 pages but on other days he completed only a couple of pages.

Every Friday he was allowed outside to sunbathe. Sometimes, when a good idea or a worthy word ignited in his mind, he ignored the rare minutes of freedom and admiration of the blue sky and rushed back to his cell.

The act of writing was a distraction that allowed him to forget about his execution day, he said. After completing the book in late 2005, he gave it to his wife to share with others.

Unlikely dream

Dinh said he had never wanted to write a book. But one spring day in 2004 changed his life.

He was listening to the then Prime Minister Phan Van Khai on the radio, who was urging writers to write about the country's march toward industrialisation and modern-isation.

"The Prime Minister encouraged me. I wanted to do something helpful for society. In this situation, the only thing I could do was write," Dinh recalled.

He said by the age of 40 he had not done anything helpful for anybody.

He then wrote a letter to his wife, asking her to find another husband. As he wrote, he was so nervous that he forgot many words and couldn't finish the letter.

Dinh said he hadn't read anything since leaving high school, so he looked for newspapers, magazines and books to read, although he hated to read.

The books brought him pleasure and introduced a picture of a life different from the world of drugs and crimes.

Dinh was born in a middle-class family in Hai Phong.

After two years at a sports college, he quit and joined a gang. He was arrested in 1990 and served a five-year sentence in prison. His first wife left him and moved to Germany.

After finishing his first prison term, he started a new life by selling cars and electronic appliances with some of his friends.

After making a lot of money, he married another woman. But tragedy returned when he bought and sold hard drugs as part of a drug ring and was arrested in 1999.

The court handed down a death sentence in 1999 and he began serving his term in 2000.

After being inspired by the Prime Minister, he began writing in mid-2004 and finished the 800-page short-story collection in 2005.

Two months after finishing the book, Dinh broke into tears when his death sentence was reduced to life in prison by the State President.

Since that time, he has been writing two books. He said he sometimes cries with happiness and pain when writing about his characters. Other prisoners have also broken down in tears when reading his works.

Recently, the President again reduced his sentence, this time to 20 years. Because he has already served 10 years, he will be released in 2020. — VNS