Essays

A Sky on Fire

The true North was a land of nothing. Of nothing to do. Nowhere to go. And no one to meet.

Remembering Nguyễn Quí Đức

Radio broadcaster, writer, editor, and translator Nguyễn Quí Đức passed in November 2023.

Mình Là Ai?

It wasn’t just about showcasing writers and artists but it was also about acknowledging the history that comes before us.

Between Shopkeeper and Tycoon: Diversity in Southeast Asian Chinese American Literature

Deeply sensitive to the repercussions of history on the present day, Southeast Asian Chinese American literature draws on the pluralism of Southeast Asia to explore how colonial and Cold War experiences play out in subsequent generations.

Quá khứ và hiện tại: Sự hòa hợp giữa chất liệu thời gian và tình yêu đồng tính trong phim Song Lang.

Tuy là trích dẫn này có một chút sến (mượn từ của đạo diễn bộ phim, Leon Lê, trong cuộc phỏng vấn với Columbia University) tôi cho rằng du hành vượt thời gian là phương pháp mà Song Lang miêu tả cách thức vấn đề giới tính ở Việt Nam thời kỳ cuối thuộc địa không đơn giản như đa số các nhà nghiên cứu đã thừa nhận.

Coercion is (and cost me) my mother tongue

I know how to say sorry in Mandarin but not Hokkien, which is the Chinese my family speaks. That should tell you a bit about my family life.That’s also why, up until a few weeks ago, I didn’t consider Hokkien my mother tongue. All I know of Hokkien are orders—as in, go there, come here, don’t do that, bring this, let’s eat—domestic things, an insult or two, and questions—as in, what time is dismissal tomorrow, how could you.But since settling down in Switzerland and seeing droves of kids return home for lunch, and then again in the late afternoon once classes are done, I hear my mom’s voice. Hwai hakseng be tsia lo. Bang heh lo.