50 Years After the End of the Vietnam War: A Pathway Toward Healing and Reconciliation | A Busboys and Poets Books Presentation
Date and Time
Apr 24, 2025 6:00 pm
Location
Takoma
235 Carroll St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20012
Apr 24, 2025 6:00 pm
Takoma
Join Vietnamese poet Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai in conversation with Vietnam veteran Wayne Karlin in a program moderated by poet E. Ethelbert Miller
On April 24, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the end of the American War in Vietnam, Busboys and Poets along with the Institute for Policy Studies will host Vietnamese poet and novelist Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai in conversation with Vietnam veteran Wayne Karlin in a program moderated by poet E. Ethelbert Miller.
Quế Mai will read from her new book of poems written in English, titled The Color of Peace, to be published in April 2025 by Black Ocean. Wayne will read from his latest book Memorial Days: Vietnam Stories, 1973–2022.
About the Speakers:
Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai is the author of thirteen books, most recently the global bestselling novels The Mountains Sing and Dust Child, and the poetry book The Color of Peace. Her writing has been translated into more than twenty-five languages and has received the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award, the International Book Award, the BookBrowse Best Debut Award, the Lannan Literary Fellowship in Fiction, as well as Runner-up for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. During the event, Quế Mai will talk about the long-lasting impact of war on Vietnamese people, present Vietnam's vibrant culture beyond the war, and include stories about Vietnamese literature, and Vietnamese ways of life. She offers firsthand experiences related to the war from a Vietnamese perspective.
Wayne Karlin has published nine novels, most recently The Genizah, a collection of short stories, Memorial Days: Vietnam Stories, 1973–2022. and three works of non-fiction including Journeys with the Dead and the Living in Viet Nam. He was the pro bono American editor of the Voices from Vietnam series for Curbstone Press, a project to publish Vietnamese authors in translations. He has received six State of Maryland Individual Artist Awards in Fiction, two Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts), the aterson Prize in Fiction for 1999, the Vietnam Veterans of American Excellence in the Arts Award in 2005, and the 2019 Juniper Prize for Fiction.
E. Ethelbert Miller is a literary activist and author of two memoirs and several poetry collections. He was given a 2020 congressional award from Congressman Jamie Raskin in recognition of his literary activism, awarded the 2022 Howard Zinn Lifetime Achievement Award by the Peace and Justice Studies Association, and named a 2023 Grammy Nominee Finalist for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album. In 2024 Miller was awarded the Furious Flower Lifetime Achievement Award.
This event is free and open to all. Our program begins at 6:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai’s THE COLOR OF PEACE, THE MOUNTAINS SING, DUST CHILD, and SECRET OF HOA SEN, and Wayne Karlin’s MEMORIAL DAYS will be available for purchase before and after the event. Please note that this event is in person and will not be livestreamed.
We ask that guests RSVP in order to receive direct updates about the event:
