Discussion | Literary Influences and the Voices Behind Them: The Flow of Culture
02 pm – 04 pm, Mon 05 May 2025
Room D201-D202
University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH), Ho Chi Minh City
10-12 Đinh Tiên Hoàng, Bến Nghé ward, D.1, HCMC
Registration link
From the organizer:
Every writer’s journey is shaped by the stories they’ve encountered—whether it’s a novel that changed how they see the world, a poet’s words that never left them, or even the folklore and personal tales passed down by family. Great writing doesn’t come out of nowhere; it’s part of a long conversation between voices across time. Some influences are direct and unmistakable, while others linger in the background, leaving their mark in subtle ways.
In this discussion, we’ll sit down with a group of acclaimed authors to explore the books, writers, and oral traditions that have shaped their craft. What was it about a certain story’s structure, a character’s voice, or a particular turn of phrase that stayed with them? How have these influences—whether a childhood myth, a classic novel, or an unexpected gem—guided their own work, consciously or not?
By tracing these connections, we’ll see how literature’s past and personal storytelling roots continue to shape its present.
Speakers:
Kim Nguyen Baraldi
Kim Nguyen Baraldi is an essayist and literary critic.
He holds a degree in Modern Literature and a Master’s in Comparative Literature from the Sorbonne University (Paris), as well as a Master’s in Creative Writing from Pompeu Fabra University (Barcelona).
He is the author of Por qué Georges Perec (La uÑa RoTa, Spain, 2024), with a French translation scheduled for publication in 2026.
His essays have appeared in various cultural and literary journals across Spain and Latin America. He teaches literary workshops and, since 2011, has been editing the literary website Calle del Orco. He currently lives in Barcelona.
Cecile Pin
Cecile Pin grew up in Paris and New York City. She moved to London at eighteen to study Philosophy at University College London, followed by an MA at King’s College London. She previously worked in publishing. Her debut novel Wandering Souls was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for fiction, the Prix Femina Etranger, and shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize.
Khuê Phạm (she/her) is an award-winning Vietnamese-German journalist and writer. A graduate of the London School of Economics, she worked as a producer for NPR’s Berlin bureau before becoming an editor at the weekly Die Zeit. She also contributed op-eds to the Guardian and USA Today. In 2012, she co-wrote “We new Germans”, a non-fiction book about second-generation immigrants in Germany. Her debut novel “Brothers and Ghosts” was published in English translation in Australia, Britain and the US. She is also a performer in “Kim”, the stage adaptation of her novel, which has been touring in Germany and Taiwan. Khuê is currently writing her second novel and has recently received a grant by the German Literary Foundation to support her work. A founding member of the PEN Berlin writer`s association, she is a also a juror for the International Literature Prize, an award for global literature translated into German.
Nuage Rose (Hồng Vân)
Author Nuage Rose (Hồng Vân) is an IT Engineer, French Trade Attaché to Vietnam, Secretary-General for ASEAN Affairs at the French Embassy in Singapore… Born in Hanoi just as the war against American forces began, she has lived and worked in Paris for forty years.
Published works:
– Trois Nuage au pays des nénuphars (Autobiographical novel, Société des Écrivains, 2013)
– Ba áng Mây trôi dạt xứ bèo (Autobiographical novel, Tre Publishing, 2017)
– 120 ngày Mây thì thầm với gió (Autobiographical novel, Tre Publishing, 2021)
Đào Lê Na
Le-Na Dao, Ph.D in Literary Theory and Criticism. She is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Literature, Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City. She was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst, the United States for the academic year 2021-2022. Her teaching activities are Creative writing, Introduction to film studies, Screenwriting, Enjoying and creating short stories, and Introduction to art studies. Her research orientation: Film studies, Arts studies, Adaptation studies, and Vietnamese Culture. She has published many journal articles and book chapters in Vietnam
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