Render Unto Kiều – On Reading & Translating The Tale of Kiều

A Conversation with Bình Nguyễn and Vinh Quốc Nguyễn

Join the Library, Vietnam Society, and Columbia University’s Weatherhead East Asian Institute for a unique conversation about the classic of Vietnamese literature The Tale of Kiều, newly translated by Bình Nguyễn. Moderated by Thuý Dinh, the dialogue between Bình Nguyễn and Vinh Quốc Nguyễn newly explores a beloved literary classic.

Copies of the book will be available for sale.

ABOUT THE BOOK
The Tale of Kiều—or Kiều for short—is a poetic narrative written by Nguyễn Du in the 19th century, adapted from a 17th century Chinese romance novel. Considered one of the greatest classics in Vietnamese literature, the 2025 English translation by Bình Nguyễn is intended as both corrective reading and deep appreciation for the work’s popular impact via Vietnam’s oral tradition and ingenious distribution networks. Rejecting an epic, but “narrow and outdated” interpretation of Kiều as emblematic of Vietnam’s colonial history and its author’s divided political allegiance, Bình movingly illustrates how Nguyễn Du successfully transformed a formulaic Chinese novel into a well-rounded, dynamic portrait of Vietnamese culture, beloved by both the intelligentsia and common folk, even adapted into bedtime lullabies for children. Discussing Thuý Kiều’s years of wandering as a woman, artist, and outsider, Bình passionately analyzes how Nguyễn Du’s 3,254-line poem plumbs the complexities of human nature to define and also defy social hierarchy, gender, and sexuality.

Bình Nguyễn, a native of Hà Nội, Việt Nam, had lived there continuously until they graduated from high school. Considered a prodigy, they published a series of Vietnamese-language sci-fi novels for young readers in 2011, when they were only ten. An earlier version of their English translation of Kiều received the 2022 Young Writers Award for Translation from the Vietnamese Writers’ Association. They graduated from the University of Arizona in May 2023 with a double degree in Astronomy and Linguistics, and is currently a PhD student in Astronomy at the University of Washington, Seattle, where they study passive galaxies in the early days of the Universe. Transplanted thousands of miles from their birthplace, Bình finds emotional solace in Nguyễn Du’s poetry, which to them is “like a star whose light [travels] hundreds of light-years to [align] on the shoulder of a crying child.” Their scientific endeavors and literary projects share one common goal: to embrace ancient canons in exploring what it’s like to be human in the modern world. They are currently working on the first Vietnamese translation of Virgil’s Aeneid, and seeking publication for Diệu and the Green Drum, their English-language debut novel reinterpreting the Arthurian romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Vinh Quốc Nguyễn received his BA in East Asian Languages and Civilizations (EALC), MA in Regional Studies – East Asia (RSEA), and PhD in History and East Asian Languages (HEAL), all from Harvard University. He has done research in Vietnam under fellowships from the Fulbright Program and the Social Science Research Council (SSRC). In November 2021, for Columbia Poetry Night, Vinh gave a tremendously insightful, wide-ranging talk on eight out of ten existing English translations of Kiều (this talk took place before the publication of Bình Nguyễn’s current English translation). Vinh’s in-depth knowledge of Vietnam’s late premodern period, which covers Nguyễn Du’s era (late 18th century to 19th century), familiarity with Hán-Nôm philology, specialized interest in gender/queer studies, and accomplished teaching experience will definitely add salient dimensions to the proposed conversation.

Thuý Đinh (moderator) is a bilingual critic, literary translator, coeditor of the Vietnamese webzine Da Màu, and editor-at-large for the Vietnamese Diaspora at Asymptote Journal. On April 30 of this year, she was one of four panelists on the panel Beyond Legacy, Beyond Memory: South Vietnamese Literature from the Fall into the Future, hosted by Columbia University’s Weatherhead East Asian Institute, discussing South Vietnamese Literature (1954-1975) and its influence on diasporic Vietnamese literature. She also served as guest editor for Words Without Borders’ recently-launched Special Issue on Literature of the Vietnamese Diaspora.