“All it takes to write is your own time and your own life.” “Part of the reason why we see that versus the world of film is because it’s cheap to write,” he said. They are subject to the whims and mercies of people more powerful from them - the producers and the owners - who can dictate what kinds of stories are told.” It’s a particularly big problem in Hollywood, he said.īut there is one medium where Nguyen sees the possibility of narrative plentitude for Asian American stories: literature. “If Black people and other people of color and other minorities don’t control, or don’t have control, over the means of production, they really don’t control their stories. Narrative scarcity remains the reality for non-white Americans, said Nguyen, because they don’t control the economy. In ‘The Committed,’ he continues making bad choices in his life.” There’s plenty of “crime and violence and drugs,” but also engagement with race, colonialism and pluralism - tensions that are still roiling contemporary France in 2020. In a one-on-one chat after the panel, Nguyen talked about “The Committed,” out in March teaching and writing during the pandemic and what’s next for him.Īsked what readers can expect from “The Sympathizer’s” main character in the sequel, Nguyen said, “More of the same. The children’s book was conceived in the mind of Ellison, then 5, and illustrated by Bui and her son. Pendakur from USC’s Race and Equity Center. 18.ĭuring the virtual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Sunday, Nguyen and his 7-year-old son, Ellison, joined Caldecott Medal winner Thi Bui and her 13-year-old son, Hien Bui-Stafford, for a reading and discussion of “Chicken of the Sea,” moderated by Sumun L. The online festival - 25 events marking 25 years - begins Oct. The schedule unveiled Thursday also features Ayad Akhtar, Marlon James and actor Henry Winkler. Times Festival of Books lineup includes Natalie Portman, Jerry Brown
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