Writers at Rutgers event features Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyen

On Wednesday, the Rutgers Writers House hosted a presentation with Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of "The Sympathizer" and "The Committed," as the final event of the Writers at Rutgers series this semester.

Carolyn Williams, distinguished professor and director of creative writing in the English Department, said that in its 30-year history, the Writers at Rutgers reading series has featured numerous distinguished writers, novelists and poets across different literary genres.

She said the goal of these events is to provide students the opportunity to engage with published authors and further their reading through active discussion.

"The most important takeaway is inspiration. Students find their energy for their own writing increases when they hear and see writers in the flesh and can relate to them as real fellow writers," Williams said.

During Wednesday's event, Nguyen participated in a panel discussion with undergraduate students, where he discussed minority representation in literature and media, specifically for refugees and Vietnamese Americans.

Nguyen said the perspectives of Vietnamese people are often obscured amid the political influence and legacy of colonization in the U.S.

"I do want to talk about the Vietnam War. But if I talk about the Vietnam War, am I just fulfilling the white expectation that Vietnamese people have to talk about the Vietnam War?" he said. "So then if I don't talk about the Vietnam War, am I liberating myself from white expectation, or am I giving into white expectation by allowing white people to dominate the entire discussion?"

At the reading, Nguyen shared an excerpt from his upcoming memoir, "A Man of Two Faces," which he said details his adolescence in San Jose, California, and how it shaped him into the writer he is today.

Nguyen recounted how his experiences reading Asian American literature showed him that he too could find a voice in his own writing. He said that he learned his responsibility as a writer should not include considering whether non-Vietnamese people understand his voice.

Aimee LaBrie, senior program administrator at Writers House and adjunct faculty instructor, said the Writers at Rutgers series provides students with access to famous writers like Nguyen, which then enables them to gain valuable insights about these writers' works and methods.

She said the reading series initiated in-person events again last fall for the first time since the pandemic. She hopes more students on campus take advantage of these opportunities to interact with notable writers.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to talk to some writers who you're going to see in Barnes & Noble on the shelves," LaBrie said. "(You) realize that they're real people who want to talk to you and get to know you."