The Cleaving

Vietnamese Writers in the Diaspora

Dr. Isabelle Thuy Pelaud, Lan Duong, Viet Thanh Nguyen

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English

University of California Press
19 June 2025

Creative writing & creative writing guides; Writing skills; Refugees & political asylum

Series: Critical Refugee Studies

The first and only book to gather the voices and perspectives of Vietnamese diasporic authors from across the globe.

Edited by Isabelle Thuy Pelaud, Lan P. Duong, and Pulitzer Prize–winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Cleaving brings together Vietnamese artists and writers from around the world in conversation about their craft and how their work has been shaped and received by mainstream culture and their own communities. This collection highlights how Vietnamese diasporic writers speak about having been cleaved—a condition in which they have been separated from, yet still hew to, the country that they have left behind.

Composed of eighteen dialogues among thirty-seven writers from France, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Canada, Australia, Israel, and the United States, the book expands on the many lives that Vietnamese writers inhabit. The dialogues touch on family history, legacies of colonialism and militarism, and the writers' own artistic and literary achievements. Taken together, these conversations insist on a deeper reckoning with the conditions of displacement.

Featured writers: Hoai Huong Aubert-Nguyen, Amy Quan Barry, Doan Bui, Thi Bui, Lan Cao, Cathy Linh Che, André Dao, Duy Đoàn, Lan P. Duong, Dương Vân Mai Elliott, Le Ly Hayslip, Matt Huynh, Violet Kupersmith, Thanhhà Lại, Vincent Lam, T.K. Lê, Tracey Lien, Marcelino Trương Lực , Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, Anna Möi, Beth (Bich) Minh Nguyen, Diana Khoi Nguyen, Hieu Minh Nguyen, Hoa Nguyen, Philip Nguyễn, Thảo Nguyễn, Vaan Nguyen, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Isabelle Thuy Pelaud, Andrew X. Pham, Aimee Phan, Abbigail Nguyen Rosewood, Bao Phi, Dao Strom, Kim Thúy, Paul Tran, Monique Truong, Minh Huynh Vu, Ocean Vuong

Edited by: Dr. Isabelle Thuy Pelaud, Lan Duong, Viet Thanh Nguyen
Imprint: University of California Press
Country of Publication: United States
Volume: 8
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 28mm
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9780520410350
ISBN 10: 0520410351
Series: Critical Refugee Studies
Pages: 264
Publication Date: 19 June 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Isabelle Thuy Pelaud is Professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University and Cofounder and Executive Director of the Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network (DVAN). Lan P. Duong is Associate Professor of Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Southern California. Her collection of poetry, Nothing Follows, was published in 2023. Viet Thanh Nguyen is author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel and New York Times bestseller The Sympathizer; its sequel, The Committed; and, most recently, the memoir A Man of Two Faces.

Reviews for The Cleaving: Vietnamese Writers in the Diaspora

""It has been 50 years since the war ended in Vietnam, yet for decades afterward Vietnamese writers have rarely been published in the English language. The Cleaving is remarkable in making amends, featuring three dozen writers, poets, and artists in the Vietnamese diaspora in paired dialogues. The result is an affecting kaleidoscope of perspectives and feelings that tears away the Western image of the country."" * Air Mail *