Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn

Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn

Portrait of Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn in black complet.
Born Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn
(1945-03-09) 9 March 1945
Sơn Tây, French Indochina
Occupation writer, teacher, MC
Language Vietnamese, English
Nationality  South Vietnam
 Canada
Ethnicity Vietnamese
Citizenship  Canada
Education Nguyễn Bá Tòng School
Chu Văn An High School
Conservatory of Ho Chi Minh City
Alma mater The University of Saigon
Genre short story, novel, drama
Notable works The Will Of Heaven
Years active 1986–present
Spouse Lê Thị Tuyết Lan (1970–1978)
Trần Ngọc Diệp (1982–)
Children 2 sons
Relatives Nguyễn Ngọc Trọng (younger brother)

Military career

Allegiance  South Vietnam
Service/branch  South Vietnam Army
Years of service 1970–1975
Battles/wars Vietnam War

Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn (born 9 March 1945) is a Vietnamese-Canadian writer and essayist.

He was born in Sơn Tây, Vietnam, but his family moved to South Vietnam when the Geneva Accords divided Vietnam in 1954. After university and service in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, Ngạn was imprisoned by the victorious communists after the fall of Saigon in 1975 and did forced labour in a re-education camp until 1978, an experience described in his autobiography, The Will Of Heaven.[1]

After his release, Ngạn escaped by boat to Malaysia in 1979; during the closing stages of the journey, storms hit the boat and knocked it over within sight of land. Ngạn's wife and child drowned and he was pulled unconscious from the water. He was sponsored by the Canadian government and brought to Vancouver in 1980, moving to Prince Rupert, British Columbia and in 1985 to Toronto.[2]

Ngạn is known for co-hosting Thuy Nga's Paris By Night with Vietnamese personality Kỳ Duyên. He co-authored Ballad Of Mulan and The Blind Man and the Cripple - Orchard Village.

References

  1. Huu Khoa Le, Littérature vietnamienne: la part d'exil, p. 39 (Groupe de recherche sur l'Extrême-Orient contemporain, 1995); ISBN 2-85399-361-2
  2. Yale University, Southeast Asia Studies, The Vietnam Forum (1985).

Sources

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