1 April 2003
Boat People
►“In the first weeks after the Communists seized Saigon, between forty thousand and
sixty thousand Vienamese fled by boat. Many of these first Vienamese boat people were
rescued by U.S. naval ships, which transported them to Guam and the Philippines, where
they would wait for resettlement” (Cao and Novas 209).
►With socialist expropriations and repressions in 1979, a third wave of refugees set off
in boats. Forty percent were Chinese Vietnamese (Cao and Novas 210).
Du Tu Le, “Dawn of a New Humanity,” on the Boat Experience
Can you imagine human hair
Flowing all over the sea,
Children’s bodies ready to dissolve
As human meat dinners of fish?
But they keep on leaving
As humanity turn their heads aaway
And still they serenely
Throw themselves into death
(reprinted in Takaki 412)
Vietnamese Gangs
►“The lost generation,” youths who arrived in America unaccompanied, formed gangs.
Mostly of boys, some exclusively of girls, such as the Wally Girls.” They are called bui
doi, “dust of life.” They will seek out other Vietnamese, often through the phone
directory, and rob them (Novas and Cao 214).
Little Saigon
►Where more than 400,000 Vietnamese Americans reside and do business. A two-mile
stretch of Bolsa Avenue in Westminster, Orange County, California. Elected first
Vietnamese American, Tony Lam, to the city council (Novas and Cao 215).
Religion Among Vietnamese Americans
►Buddhism practiced by the majority: Mahayana among the Northerners, Theravada by
the Southerners. Many also follow Catholicism. Many mix their religious beliefs and
practices.
Supreme Master Ching Hai
►Ching Hai, “honorary American citizen since 1993,” “a symbol of spiritual wisdom and
guidance for hundreds of thousands of seekers of enlightenment around the globe. She
teaches, free of charge, a non-denominational form of meditation called the Quan Yin
method in thirty-six center worldwide.” Known also for humanitarian and disaster-relief
projects; has addressed the United Nations. At the center of Ching Hai’s philosophy are
the ideals animating all world religions: “universal brotherhood and sisterhood, moral
courage, and purity of mind.” Offers the “Key to Immediate Enlightenment” and its
method, “the silent contemplation of the ‘inner soundstream,’ by which the individual
may experience higher levels of consciousness and uncover the path to enlightened
understanding” (Novas and Cao 222-3).
What Is Nuoc mam?
►Nuoc mam, “an all-purpose condiment made of fermented fish sauce, red chile peppers,
garlic, sugar, and lime juice” (Novas and Cao 224-5).
Today’s Readings for Discussion
►Anh Phong Nguyen, “You Bring Out the Vietnamese Woman in Me” (97-9)
►Jade Quang Huynh, “Gifts for My Family” (169-70)
►Eliabeth Gordon, “Expurgation” (189-91)
►Ira Sukrungruang, “Generations of Laundry” (47-57)
►Pornsak Pichetshote, “Quiet Letters” (201-14)
Questions to Answer
►1. How does the story or poem depict the family?
►2. How does the story or poem connect the past and the present?
►3. What does the story or poem tell about the immigrant experience?
►4. What does the story or poem tell about Southeast Asian American identity?
Anh Phong Nguyen
►Graduated from Bryn Mawr College
►Enrolled in a Masters of Theology program at Harvard Divinity School
►Anh Phuong-Nguyen’ poem: “You Bring Out the Vietnamese Woman in Me” (97-9)
Anh Phong Nguyen: Vocab
►Monsoon 97
►Con gai: Girl 97
►Tinh: love, affection 97
►Pacific Rim 97
►Kieu: model, example 97
►Viet Hai Ngoai: Vietnamese residing overseas 97
►Diaspora 97
►Refugee 97
►Stock market Crash of ’29 98
►Roe v. Wade 98
►Vietcong 98
►Tet 98
►Xahn: to be blue or to be green 99
Jade Quang Huynh
►Born in Vietnam, 1957
►He published a memoir in South Wind Changing
►Coeditor, Deliverance by Sea: Vietnamese Boat People’s Narratives
►B.A. from Bennington College, 1987
►M.F.A., master of fine arts, from Brown University, 1992
►Received a National Endowment for the Arts
►Teaches at Appalachian State University
Elizabeth Gordon
►Poet and fiction writer
►Born in Saigon to Vietnamese and American parents
►M.A. in creative writing, Brown University
►Published in Slant, Green Mountains Review, CutBank, Plainsong, and Home to Stay:
Asian American Women’s Fiction
►Working on first collection of poems, Miscegenation (tentative title)
Ida Sukrungruang
►2nd-generation Thai American
►Born in Chicago.
►His fiction appears in Crab Orchard Review
►Pursuing an M.F.A. in creative nonfiction at the Ohio State University
Ida Sukrungruang
►“Generations of Laundry” (47-57)
►Upone 49-50
►Sutate 53
►Mao Tse Dong of China 55
►Buddha 56
Pornsak Pinchetshote
►2nd-generation Thai American
►Lives in Boston
►His nonfiction has been published in Insider, Indy, and Subliminal Tatoos
►First publication is “Quiet Letters” (in Tilting the Continent)
“Quiet Letters” (201-14)
►Christopher Anil Lomchai 201
►New Jersey 202
►Bangkok 205
►Organizing the mail 205
►Parents’ arguments 206
►Like wrestling water 208
►Burning letters 210
►Chris’s dream 213