Writing as Rescue
Writing is an attempt to rescue a moment from oblivion. Every story I record is a story that will not be lost. It is an act of resistance.
Viet Thanh Nguyen
Vietnamese-American author and Pulitzer Prize winner whose novels explore refugee trauma, displacement, and the legacy of empires.
All moments: Viet Thanh Nguyen
- Memory as Weapon — Viet Thanh Nguyen
To control a person's memory is to control their future. That is why history is rewritten, stories are forgotten. A writer must be a guardian of memory.
- Loyalty and Betrayal — Viet Thanh Nguyen
Every revolutionary is a traitor to the enemy. Every loyal citizen is a traitor to the revolution. Morality always depends on whose side you choose.
- The Desire to Belong — Viet Thanh Nguyen
Colonization is not just a political phenomenon, it is psychological. We internalize the power of the colonizer, desire their approval. Literature is a way to break free from this dependence.
- War in the Voice — Viet Thanh Nguyen
The history of Vietnam is a history of voice. Whose voice is heard, whose is silenced? The Sympathizer is a novel about finding one's own voice in a world of imperial silence.
- A Man of Two Faces — Viet Thanh Nguyen
Living between cultures is not having two faces, it is living in a state of permanent translation. We experience two deaths: the death of the home we left, and birth in a new land.
- Sequel as Question — Viet Thanh Nguyen
Following a character into the next chapter is a question about time. Can he remain the same if the world has changed? A sequel breaks the hero, remakes him, kills his former self.
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As a documentarian, I feel a responsibility to preserve the history of Black music and culture
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As an artist, I see my role as serving humanity and raising my voice for justice
- Humble Beginnings — Paul McCartney
Nobody believed in us at first. We just believed in ourselves and the music.
- Always Be a Good Human — Louis Armstrong
I've always tried to be a good human being. That's what matters.
- Childhood - Where It All Starts — Michael Jackson
Childhood is where it all starts. If we lose childhood, we lose everything.
- A Song Is Blood — Paul McCartney
A melody comes to me like someone is singing it to me. It's magic.