Pulitzer Prize Winner Nguyen Gives Assembly

“I was living in a time of narrative scarcity,” Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen declared to an enrapt crowd at assembly this Tuesday. “There weren’t enough stories, weren’t enough words. This is the experience for minorities in America.”

“He is a sought-after author; a number of colleges have invited him this year. We were incredibly fortunate to have gotten him not only for one day, but for two days,” Caldwell said. “I think it’s all because of the nine students who I took to see him last winter; they impressed him so much.”

Nguyen, a Vietnamese American author and refugee, shared his personal experiences and broader insights on social justice, empowering members of the community to tell their stories. Both his assembly and evening Haley Lecture were met with standing ovations. Nguyen also answered questions over lunch at the Latin Study and met with Asian student groups in the Library Commons on Wednesday. Exonians appreciated his unique viewpoints, humor and honesty.

Nguyen won the Pulitzer Prize in 2015 for his debut novel, The Sympathizer, narrated from the perspective of a communist spy in the immediate aftermath of the Vietnam War. He also authored the non-fiction work Nothing Ever Dies and the collection of short stories The Refugees. Currently, he is a professor of American Studies and English at the University of Southern California, a critic at large for The Los Angeles Times, and a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times.

English Instructor Tyler Caldwell, who teaches a senior English elective on Viet Thanh Nguyen, arranged his visit to PEA. During his introductory speech, Caldwell recalled how last winter, he and nine students in the course travelled to Dartmouth College during a snowstorm to listen to Nguyen speak. Caldwell contacted Nguyen the following April to invite him to Exeter.

“He is a sought-after author; a number of colleges have invited him this year. We were incredibly fortunate to have gotten him not only for one day, but for two days,” Caldwell said. “I think it’s all because of the nine students who I took to see him last winter; they impressed him so much.”

Nguyen’s reflections on the “Asian Invasion” story resonated with senior Jacky Cho. “There aren’t lots of stories about the Asian American experience and I think his assembly definitely allowed me to put into words what I was feeling,” Cho said. “It was nice to hear you’re not the only one who’s struggling in this way.”

Upper Richard Huang noted that Nguyen’s empowering message was relevant to many Exonians. “Especially at such a diverse school, we struggle to find an identity,” Huang said. “[Nguyen] came to this school and spread the idea that you can find your identity and you don’t have to hide yourself or pretend to be someone you’re not.”

Meanwhile, senior Jenny Yang said that Nguyen’s visit was well-timed, noting the creation of affinity group Asian Voices (AV) last year and a MLK Day workshop last Friday on Asian American activism. “There has been a spark or movement of Asian students on campus standing up and speaking out,” Yang said. “[Nguyen] invited people who previously weren’t in AV or hadn’t considered these things to join the movement and consider the stories they had to tell or stories they were listening to.”

Many students found Nguyen’s lectures and responses both relatable and enlightening. Lower Rachel Saltman appreciated the witty humor with which Nguyen interspersed his heavy, often hard-hitting reflections. “[His] impact on our school is bringing attention to the Asian American community because that wasn’t talked about at Exeter a lot,” Saltman said. “He added comedy into it, which I think students here enjoy. They don’t enjoy just listening to someone on stage speaking.”

Prep Audrey Gonzalez added that Nguyen, unlike some Assembly speakers, was very honest in sharing his views and experiences. “He was blunt,” Gonzalez said. “He said what other assembly speakers were sugarcoating or avoiding.”

Senior Daniel Kang, currently enrolled in the English elective on Nguyen’s works, appreciated how he approached every issue with a fresh, analytical perspective. “Nguyen is exciting to me because he isn’t afraid to think critically about the systems that shape everything Americans, Asian Americans, Asians and humans have come to know,” Kang said.

Senior Adrian Venzon hopes Nguyen’s appearance exposed more Exonians to interesting stories and representations. “He’s such a brilliant author and he has a lot of insight that he can share with us,” he said. “The school can learn how to truly analyze the narratives we are exposed to and think about the biases and underlying issues that come with them.”

Similarly, senior and AV moderator Andrew Liquigan, who is also taking the Nguyen English elective, appreciated how Nguyen shed light on narrative scarcity, the lack of diverse or accurate representations of minority groups. “There is some level of narrative scarcity at Exeter,” he said. “People aren’t aware that dialogue’s important.”

Caldwell agreed that Nguyen helped underrepresented viewpoints be heard. “He’s very interested in how to empower or give rise to those voices that have for so long been excluded or forgotten or unheard,” Caldwell said. “He has a very powerful and very distinctive voice; he is intelligent, funny and wonderfully blunt.”

English Instructor and Asian Student Program Coordinator Wei-Ling Woo said that the underrepresentation of Asian viewpoints in Exeter English classes is an example of a nationwide narrative scarcity. “I think [the underrepresentation] is, in some ways, a reflection of American society at large,” Woo said. “[At Exeter] there are definitely teachers who teach works by Asian or Asian American writers, but I recognize that not every student might be getting the same experience because we don’t have a set curriculum for each term or grade.”