From refugee to celebrated storyteller: Viet Thanh Nguyen’s American journey
Viet Thanh Nguyen is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. He was awarded that honor in 2016 for his debut novel “The Sympathizer.” Then he received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2017.
When he was four years-old, Nguyen came to the United States from Vietnam with his family after the fall of Saigon. His experiences as a refugee, immigrant and Asian-American infuse his work.
He spoke at a Seattle Arts & Lectures event at Benaroya Hall on May 7, and Sonya Harris recorded his talk and conversation with “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet” author Jamie Ford. The opening poem was written and read by Wei Wei Lee.
Please note: This recording contains unedited language of an adult nature, specifically racial slurs.
Listen to the full version below:
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John O'Brien
Producer
John O’Brien is a KUOW newsroom producer. He works with the Morning Edition and All Things Considered teams to schedule, record, and edit interviews and stories on a variety of topics, from politics and public health to arts and culture. He learned to make radio in 2006 as an intern on KUOW’s The Conversation and is a former host of KUOW's Speakers Forum.
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