New Waves<\/em>\u00a0goes beyond what readers typically expect when they talk about Vietnamese-American literature.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nThis focus on less-predictable literature that diaCRITICS<\/em> aims to champion is essential because, even though high-profile works by authors like Ocean Vuong, Thi Bui and Phan Nguyen Que Mai, have been major achievements for the community, much progress remains needed. As Dao notes: \u201c\u2018High profile\u2019 success is a win, so to speak, in terms that in a best-case scenario it means it opens the door, or at least puts a toe in the doorway, for other Vietnamese American writers and other types of Vietnamese American stories \u2014 hopefully not just war-related ones \u2014 to also become validated by ‘the establishment’ and be seen as worthy of interest to a wider, more ‘mainstream’ swath of readers. I think these are all positive steps and advances along the way, and the landscape is slowly, ever so slowly, changing in America for many writers of color and marginalized groups. However, I also see some dangers in lauding these achievements and lionizing them. First, I\u2019ll say: why do we care \u2014 why do we want and aspire to \u2014 recognitions of a ‘high profile’ i.e. major awards vs publication with, for instance, well-reputed small presses who are also doing valuable publishing work? Or, why do we need to wait for a book to receive validation from an establishment award, for us to recognize its merits? I also see that the most widely recognized (by mainstream outlets) works by Vietnamese authors still largely display certain markers to make ‘legible’ our existence or worth: as either victims and\/or survivors of war, refugee-hood, trauma, etc. These are very true elements, of course. Yet the focus on them reflects an ‘American’ gaze that still defines the ‘Vietnamese’ person in terms of wounds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nAs with many communities, the relationship between Vietnamese in Vietnam and those abroad can be fraught. The divides can lead to people not wanting to converse with those outside of their perceived identity. Assumptions, prejudices and opinions arise, in part, from a lack of dialogue, and this fractured communication makes it difficult for empathy to take root. It\u2019s within this context that outlets like diaCRITICS<\/em> are vital.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAs Dao explains: \u201cThere are many divisions \u2014 in my experience \u2014 inherent in our being Vietnamese and especially as Vietnamese in the diaspora. There is a long ‘pattern’ of divisions and divisiveness, questions of who belongs or who doesn\u2019t, who is ‘more’ truly Vietnamese or not (due to geography, familiarity or fluency of language, customs, etc), and \u2014 in some cases \u2014 degrees of animosity and ideas of inclusion\/exclusion persist. As a writer and as a Vietnamese person who has long felt the psychic loss embedded in our narrative, I am also interested in transformation and healing and becoming cognizant enough of those ‘patterns’ to not fall prey to them in the unfolding future\u2026these are some of the reasons why I feel it is important to reach across the divides of our ‘Vietnamese’ (diasporic and native) experiences, to try to reconnect and listen to all the different stories, from different shores. In my simplistic thinking, this is the path to a new way of being\/defining what or where or who defines what it means to be Vietnamese. My hope, which reflects also the hopes and mission of diaCRITICS<\/em> and DVAN, is for dialogue between Vietnamese all over the world, in Vietnam and in the diaspora, so that we can enlighten one another and transcend the boundaries and divisions that ‘state’ and ‘national’ and ‘historical’ narratives have ingrained.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[Saigoneer] \u201cVietnamese communities can sometimes\/often demand conformity and tradition of people in order to feel a part of things; I have always seen diaCRITICS as an opportunity to trouble the definitions, push the boundaries, to include the atypical voices and stories and viewpoints.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88895,"featured_media":54580,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2153],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
How DiaCritics Creates a Platform for Diverse Vietnamese Voices From Abroad - DVAN<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n