... who won't already be on a tropical beach recovering from their latest school year, this Thursday is Random House's 3rd Annual Author Event for NYC Educators! I'm honored to be one of four presenting authors—and the only cartoonist—given this amazing opportunity to speak directly with you about VIETNAMERICA, and its classroom possibilities. The other authors (and I'm shaking with nervousness as I type this) will be Neal Bascomb, Monique Truong, and John Prendergast.
This is the second RH high school event I've participated in since my last post, with the first being the graphic novel presenter for their Creative Writing Competition's award ceremony. This is an annual competition for NYC seniors with the three awardees in poetry/spoken word, fiction/drama, personal essay/memoir, and graphic novel receiving $2500, $5000, and $10,000. It's a wonderful program to help support young creatives, and I encourage every local soon-to-be senior that enjoys writing to participate next year!
In the latest VIETNAMERICA news, Amazon's selected it as one of its top Summer Reading for Adults—only one of two comics/graphic novels to make the list! That's an awesome boost as it hits the road again in July. First stop in a couple weeks will be workshops at the Catalyst Foundation's Culture Camp in upstate New York.
And now some recent figure drawings to fulfill the visual component of this post...
2 comments:
Dear Mr. Tran,
One of my colleagues attended the Random House event... And returned with a copy of Vietnamerica. She lent it to me because I too am a child of Vietnamese immigrants (I was only 2 when my family arrived in America in 1985 and completely consider myself Ameican). You story was very touching and rang so true for me. Up until a few years ago, I never had any interest in what my parents' lives were like in Vietnam. When my daughter was born, I wanted to be able to pass down part of my culture... But I didn't even know my own culture. So I asked my parents a few questions and learned a little bit about their journey. I stopped asking when the details became too gory. Thank you for sharing your story. I will be visiting my parents next month- your story has inspired me to continue asking them questions, to know my family's history, and to develop my roots. Again, thank you.
Thanks so much! I'm very grateful that VIETNAMERICA resonated with you on such a deep level, and I definitely encourage you to keep asking your parents questions to preserve your family's legacy. The fact that they're already willing to talk to you about their painful past is huge!
Post a Comment