
The Fraught Human-Earth Dynamics in 'Revenge of Gaia,' a Collection of Vietnamese Eco-Fiction
Stories focusing on the natural world and humanity’s relationships with the environment existed before the term eco-literature became popular in the west in the 1970s, but since its coinage, writers a...

'Bronze Drum,' an Entertaining, TV-Ready Reimagining of the Legend of Hai Bà Trưng
Turning a beloved but brief legend based on scant historical evidence into a page-turning novel is no easy task. But Phong Nguyen’s book Bronze Drum succeeds in depicting the upbringing and rebel...

Guilt, Mortality, and Hope in 'Khát Vọng Cho Con' by Poet Du Tử Lê
“We are like fruits forcefully ripened, a generation of premature adults, a generation of misery.”— Du Tử Lê.

A Study of the Mekong Through Stories Told on the River
Much like humanity, great systems of the natural world rely on connectivity to thrive.

Thuận’s Novel 'Chinatown' Targets the Tedium of Migration
Vĩnh, born in Hanoi to a Vietnamese mother who studied in the Soviet Union and teaches English in France, and an ethnically Chinese father raised in Hanoi but now working in Chợ Lớn, dreams of the day...

Once Derided, 'Lục Xì' Is a Trail-Blazing Lesson in Nuanced Sympathy
Lục Xì is a reportage written by Vũ Trọng Phụng in the first volume of Tương Lai newspaper in 1937. In the series, Phụng describes his experiences visiting the dispensary (nhà lục xì) where prostitute...

'Chronicles of a Village' Is an Avant-Garde Deconstruction of the Familiar Rural Vietnam
How would you tell the story of your birth soil?

How to Navigate Coming Out to Your Parents With the Help of 3 Fairy Tales
Sometimes stories can articulate what we cannot put into our own words. Fairy tales can function as long-form proverbs that allow people to identify and pass on important values, expectations and expe...

'My Father’s Bàng Tree': A Poem by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
This poem is featured in Volume 1 of In My Ear, Your Voice Still Flickering // Bên tai tôi, giọng người vẫn chờn vờn, a three-part, bilingual collection of works by more than 20 Vietnamese artists and...

Read Saigoneer's Literary Zine, Featuring 20 Works by Vietnamese Writers and Artists
In My Ear, Your Voice Still Flickering // Bên tai tôi, giọng người vẫn chờn vờn is a collection of work from twenty Vietnamese writers and artists released as part of the Miami Book Fair, one of ...

Đà Lạt-Born French Writer Linda Lê Passes Away at 58
Born in Đà Lạt in 1963, Linda Lê moved to France as an adolescent and went on to write numerous award-winning works of fiction in French.

Saigoneer Bookshelf: Ocean Vuong Asks Questions in 'Time Is a Mother'
Fame and poetry rarely go together.

Saigoneer Bookshelf: The Instruction Manual of Phillips H92X Offers Something for Everyone
Engaging plot or strong characters? Fantastic escapism or insightful depictions of the real world? A sweeping epic across generations and nations, or a deep examination of a brief moment in time? What...

Touching the Infinite: An Interview With Vietnamese Canadian Novelist Kim Thúy
Why pencils are yellow; the connections between the aviation industry, a centuries-old Central American ballgame and sex; the “true” color of goldfish; the reason we never see Buddha peeing; and the g...

How Indie Book Publisher Bar De Force Marries Art, Literature and Translation
“A collision of literature and art on the pages” is the descriptor that Bar De Force, a Vietnamese independent press, gives itself.

Heartfelt, Queer and Wickedly Witty: How Poetry Collection 'Come Clean' Sparks Joy
Joshua Nguyen lists himself as many things on his Instagram bio — a writer, a PhD student, a boba snob. He received his MFA from the University of Mississippi, where he is currently studying for ...

Hanoi to Name 2 New Streets After Literary Couple Lưu Quang Vũ-Xuân Quỳnh
The Hanoi People’s Council has proposed naming two streets in Cầu Giấy District after Lưu Quang Vũ and Xuân Quỳnh, two of the most prominent poets in Vietnam's literary world.

Literary Journal Áo Trắng Ceases Operations Today After 31 Years
Once a home for aspiring young writers to take their very first steps on their journey towards literary finesse, Áo Trắng will now close its doors for good.

Vietnamese Novel 'The Mountains Sing' Honored by Prestigious US Peace Prize
The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai was named the runner-up for this year's Dayton Literary Peace Prize in the fiction category.

A Wildly Original Intermingling of Tales From Vietnam, Past and Present
In the Saigoneer office — which I haven't actually seen in person for months — a common concern is the prevalence of the war in literature about Vietnam. Even among younger writers, particul...