GB Tran, a graphic novelist, spoke about the making of his book Vietnamerica, a history of the author’s family’s experience during the Vietnam War, as part of Dickinson’s line-up of programs for Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Week.  

“I just wanted to present [the] story of my family who were coincidentally Vietnamese who were coincidentally war refugees,” said Tran. He made it clear that the book was a personal exploration of his family’s history, rather than a fact-heavy depiction of the war. 

“Once I had freed myself from… [pursuing] a historical truth,” said Tran, “It allowed me to work on an emotional truth.” 

Tran said that he became interested in his parents’ experience when he visited Vietnam for the first time with them and met family members whom he had never known before. “I got exposed to all these rumors and whispers of their lives… little crazy stories,” said Tran. 

Tran said he heard for the first time how his parents hid in caves while France dropped bombs on the country and his dad’s own past as an artist. “These aren’t the types of stories my parents were telling us growing up,” Tran said. 

Tran said his father had his “big break” in his painting career just months before he got on a plane to flee Vietnam. He didn’t pack his paintings, Tran said. 

“I chose comics instead of painting,” said Tran, “To have this realization while I was working on Vietnamerica was excruciating to say the least.” 

Tran said his imagining himself in a parallel situation to his dad, “is something I don’t think about too deeply because… it’s too painful.” 

Tran said his investigation into his family’s history revealed acts of bravery and darker realities like xenophobia in some family members, at least in part a result of “Every generation [having] seen an invasion by a foreigner.” 

An educational studies class and a sociology class  were assigned to read Vietnamerica, and Tran visited those classes on Tuesday, April 2 to discuss and show his sketchbooks to the students. 

“I enjoyed learning about his creative process,” said Alex Loh ’19, “his first sketches of the book were really interesting and gave me a new level of appreciation for cartoonists.” 

“I loved the way [Tran] vocalized the human relationships that go into these types of stories,” said Shannon Nolan ’19, who attended the talk. 

Tran shared a “super cheesy epiphany” he had after suffering a brain hemorrhage in 2004. “There’s not enough time to do everything you want to do in life,” said Tran, “but there’s just enough time to do the most important things.” 

Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Week included an open mic night on April 2 and a discussion about Asian-American identity on campus on April 3.  On Thursday, April 3 a coffee event will be held at 4:30 p.m. and a final dinner will be held the same day at 6 p.m.