The Saving Grace of Spring Rolls
Vietnamese Heritage
As the daughter of a U.S. soldier and a Vietnamese woman who met and married during the Vietnam War, Kim has made Vietnamese heritage and immigration a frequent focus of her writing.
Kim's writing about Vietnamese heritage ranges from the historical to the deeply personal, including essays about her relationship with her mother and journalistic accounts of Vietnamese immigration and heritage, particularly in and around Arlington, Virginia--the first home away from home for the Vietnamese community in the nation's capital. Kim has presented or spoken about this topic to such organizations as WETA-DC (PBS), DCist, the Arlington Historical Society, Leadership Arlington, Arlington Radio, and American University. She has also appeared in public television programs and videos about Vietnamese heritage, and regularly leads walking tours of the former Little Saigon in Arlington and Eden Center, a Vietnamese commercial center in nearby Falls Church (contact Kim if your group is interested in booking a tour!).
In Spring 2019, Kim was a Virginia Humanities fellow at the Library of Virginia in Richmond, where she researched, wrote, and spoke on this topic in support of a possible book project, The Saving Grace of Spring Rolls: A Story of Food, Family, and Forgiveness. This blog post details some of Kim's research at the library during the fellowship.
Below is a selection of Kim's previous writings and appearances on this topic.
Kim's writing about Vietnamese heritage ranges from the historical to the deeply personal, including essays about her relationship with her mother and journalistic accounts of Vietnamese immigration and heritage, particularly in and around Arlington, Virginia--the first home away from home for the Vietnamese community in the nation's capital. Kim has presented or spoken about this topic to such organizations as WETA-DC (PBS), DCist, the Arlington Historical Society, Leadership Arlington, Arlington Radio, and American University. She has also appeared in public television programs and videos about Vietnamese heritage, and regularly leads walking tours of the former Little Saigon in Arlington and Eden Center, a Vietnamese commercial center in nearby Falls Church (contact Kim if your group is interested in booking a tour!).
In Spring 2019, Kim was a Virginia Humanities fellow at the Library of Virginia in Richmond, where she researched, wrote, and spoke on this topic in support of a possible book project, The Saving Grace of Spring Rolls: A Story of Food, Family, and Forgiveness. This blog post details some of Kim's research at the library during the fellowship.
Below is a selection of Kim's previous writings and appearances on this topic.
Al Jazeera English Essay
Kim's latest essay for Al Jazeera English takes the form of a letter to her mother as a young woman. |
Dish City Podcast
Washington, D.C.'s NPR station, WAMU, featured Kim in its popular "Dish City" podcast, talking about her personal story and the roots of the Vietnamese food scene in the nation's capital. |
Catapult Essays
Kim has published a series of essays in the literary magazine Catapult. One focuses on Kim's journey to accept her body and her mother's, and the rest focus on Vietnamese "Little Saigons" in the Eden Center in Virginia; New Orleans; and the "New South." |
Fork the System Essay
Kim's essay on Vietnamese spring rolls and what they represent appears in Al Jazeera's Fork the System series. |
Virginia Humanities
A q-and-a with Kim about her writing appears in Virginia Humanities' magazine, called Views. |
Echoes of Little Saigon
Kim authored this 28-page booklet about Arlington's "Little Saigon," the first major settlement for Vietnamese refugees in the nation's capital after the war. |
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"Finding My Mother, Finding Myself"
This video, produced by WETA, Washington, D.C.'s PBS station, illustrates Kim's relationship with her mother and her own Vietnamese heritage. To date, it has garnered nearly 250,000 views online. |
Eden Center
Vietcetera published Kim's guide to the best restaurants and markets at the Eden Center, the largest Vietnamese commercial center on the East Coast. A few years back, Virginia Living magazine published Kim's piece on the Eden Center. |
Melting Pot Podcast
Kim appeared on Arlington Radio's foodie program, "Melting Pot," to talk about the importance of Vietnamese food to creating a sense of home for Vietnamese immigrants and refugees. |
Ladies Home Journal
Kim's essay for Ladies Home Journal examines how making spring rolls became a symbol of hope and healing for herself and her mother. It includes a recipe for the delicious fried treats. |