 Most ethnic minority literature remains oral in nature, although a number of collections have been published over the years. |
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 With national integrity finally secured in 1975, it was not long before the literary community began to explore in their work themes which had largely been set aside during the long struggle for self determination. |
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 Modern Vietnamese literature finds its roots during the French colonial period, when popularisation of the romanised script quốc ngữ finally allowed it to break free from the restrictions of classical Chinese literature. |
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 From an early period a special ideographic script known as chữ nôm was also devised for transcribing spoken Vietnamese. According to annals dating from the late 13th century, the poets Nguyễn Thuyên and Nguyễn Sĩ Cố were the first to write in chữ nôm. At the turn of the century King Hồ Quý Ly (1400-1407) himself translated the Confucian classic Kinh Thi into nôm. Thereafter an increasingly large number of other works were composed in the new script. |
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 Prior to 1945 comparatively few southern writers had achieved recognition or success, but against a background of relative stability, prosperity and artistic freedom in the late 1950s and early 1960s a small but active literary scene began to emerge in South Việt Nam, initially under the influence of a circle of writers, linguists and educators who had relocated from the north. |
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Festival & Culture 
