FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
This page answers common questions about Tracing Kiều.
For submission guidelines, please see our Submissions page.
Last updated: [November 26, 2025]
The Basics
Tracing Kiều is a diaspora-led initiative that unfolds as an anthology, exhibition, and digital platform. It reimagines Vietnam’s most celebrated literary classic, The Tale of Kiều (Truyện Kiều, Nguyễn Du, c. 1813, exact date unknown), as a catalyst for artistic innovation and transcultural dialogue. The project connects contributors of Vietnamese heritage worldwide, creating a collective space where voices come together across distance, generation, and discipline. The project title, Tracing Kiều, points both to Thúy Kiều, the heroine of Nguyễn Du’s epic poem, and to Việt kiều – overseas Vietnamese, i.e. the diaspora. The title reflects the project’s dual focus: re-engaging with the text itself and tracing the diverse journeys of diasporic experience.
The Tale of Kiều (Truyện Kiều), written around 1813 (exact dates unknown) by Nguyễn Du (1766–1820), is Vietnam’s most celebrated literary classic. It tells the story of Thúy Kiều, whose sacrifice for family sets her on a long journey through love, loss, resilience, and return. The poem is composed of 3,254 lục bát (6–8 syllable) verses, a traditional Vietnamese form of alternating six- and eight-syllable lines. First written in chữ Nôm (a Chinese-based script used to write the Vietnamese language) and later published in quốc ngữ (Romanized Vietnamese), it has deeply influenced Vietnamese language, music, and art, and continues to be taught and quoted in Vietnam today. Like Shakespeare’s plays or Goethe’s Faust, it raises moral, political, and human questions that remain alive across generations.
Linguistically, the two words Kiều (in Thúy Kiều) and kiều (in Việt kiều) come from different Sino-Vietnamese roots, though in modern Vietnamese they are spelled and sound the same. The name Thúy Kiều evokes grace and distinction. The term Việt kiều refers to a Vietnamese person living away from their homeland; kiều means “sojourner.” The project Tracing Kiều finds in this accidental homonymy, together with the poem’s themes of wandering and return, a meaningful resonance between The Tale of Kiều and the global Vietnamese diaspora.
The Tale of Kiều has resonated for over two centuries – through colonialism, socialist reconstruction, and diaspora – with its story of love, betrayal, survival, and return. In 2025, Vietnam marked 150 years since the first quốc ngữ edition and poet Nguyễn Du’s 260th birth anniversary, at a time when Vietnamese diasporic voices are gaining new global visibility.
Because Kiều has often been overlooked outside Vietnam, engaging with it now opens new ground. Many in the diaspora have little familiarity with the poem, yet its themes – exile, survival, love, desire, piety, and suffering – remain profoundly human. It also embodies tensions between Buddhist and Confucian traditions, has carried conflicting meanings in Vietnamese history, and raises values that may clash with contemporary views. At the same time, its beauty of expression and layered allegory – even in translation – continue to inspire.
Working with Kiều today means looking backward – to rediscover and critically reflect on heritage – and looking forward, to reimagine its themes for contemporary voices. In this way, a classic of world literature becomes a space for both renewal and critique.
Tracing Kiều is initiated and led by a Berlin-based core team with deep connections to Vietnamese diasporic culture, literature, and the arts – meet the team. The project has advisory support from the Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network (DVAN) and is open to exploring partnerships with institutions and individuals worldwide.
Truyện Kiều has been translated into more than 20 languages. Many versions are available in print or online, and some can be read for free alongside a wide range of articles about the poem. Our Resources and Blog pages have some starting points – and you are welcome to share links, references, or short notes there. These contributions help build a richer dialogue among participants and connect our community.
Bói Kiều is the folk practice of opening The Tale of Kiều at random to seek guidance from a verse. Tracing Kiều adapts this as a creative prompt – a way to reactivate and connect with this folk tradition while opening the text into dialogue with lived experience and contemporary vision. Contributors are invited to use Kiều as inspiration in any form, whether or not they draw directly on bói Kiều.
Eligibility & Participation
We welcome contributions from Vietnamese diasporic writers, artists, and creatives – including first-generation migrants, later generations, adoptees, and those of mixed heritage. We also welcome Vietnam-based contributors, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds or whose perspectives bring nuance and context.
Our primary focus is to platform voices from the Vietnamese diaspora. Collaborative projects are welcome where at least one member is of Vietnamese heritage. We may also consider contributions from non-Vietnamese collaborators whose practice is in genuine dialogue with the poem. Allies can also support through programming, design, translation, or outreach.
Yes, provided rights are clear and you hold permission. Please indicate prior contexts of presentation.
Yes, especially for time-based or spatial works. Include clear documentation (sketches, stills, synopsis) so we understand the concept.
Yes! We welcome support in these areas and would love to hear from you. Please contact us through the contact form or email mail@tracingkieu.net.
Creative Guidelines
We encourage literary, visual, performance, and cross-disciplinary works that reimagine or critically engage with The Tale of Kiều. Contributions may be newly created or existing works brought into dialogue with the project.
Tracing Kiều is conceived from the start as both an anthology and an exhibition, extended by a digital platform. The anthology brings together a wide range of works, while the exhibition presents a more focused selection through performance, installation, and public programming. Together they make the project accessible on the page, in shared space, and online, reflecting the many ways Kiều continues to resonate across forms and disciplines.
Our working language is English, but we also welcome submissions in Vietnamese, German, French, or other diaspora languages. If funding allows, we will support translation. Where possible, translations into English should be provided.
- Literary: ≤3,000 words prose or ≤6 pages poetry.
- Visual/graphic: ≤8 pages (illustration, comics, collage, photography, hybrid).
- Time-based/spatial: 4–8 stills + ~300-word synopsis (optional viewing link).
Yes, we will consider a wide variety of texts. Our main focus is on creative approaches rather than academic essays, and we especially welcome works that connect to The Tale of Kiều through personal, aesthetic, or experimental perspectives. That said, we may also include short articles or excerpts if they provide valuable historical or cultural context for the anthology.
We welcome a wide variety of visual work, such as illustration, photography, collage, comics, or other image-based forms. We especially encourage works that go beyond literal depictions to explore the poem’s themes in contemporary and personal ways.
Scope & Structure
- The anthology (foundation) is envisioned as a substantial volume, likely 20–35 contributions across genres (approx. 200–250 pages). Its scope may adapt depending on funding and partnerships – from a full book to a slimmer catalogue accompanying the exhibition.
- The exhibition (spatial translation) is envisioned as a group presentation symbolically echoing Kiều’s 15-year journey of exile and transformation. Its scale may adapt depending on venue, submissions, and funding. It will be accompanied by a locally rooted public program of readings, talks, workshops, and performances.
- The digital platform (access & archive) is envisioned as a dedicated, evolving archive that documents and complements the process, providing global reach.
The final structure of the anthology and exhibition will be determined once all contributions are received and selected. To guide this process, five thematic dialogues echo Thúy Kiều’s 15-year odyssey while opening wider questions of diaspora and human experience:
- Departure & exile
- Love, yearning, betrayal & power
- Sacrifice & survival
- Identity & transformation
- Return & distance
- Language & transmission
These dialogues are not limits but points of orientation, opening paths to respond to Kiều, to reimagine it, to dialogue with it, or to critically confront it. Language & transmission also makes space for contextual writing, translations, and performance pieces that explore how Kiều moves across languages, media, and generations.
These dialogues are not limits but points of orientation, opening paths to respond to Kiều, to reimagine it, to dialogue with it, or to critically confront it.
Selection for the anthology does not automatically include participation in the exhibition. A further curatorial process will determine which works can be presented in spatial form, depending on curatorial fit, venue, and budget – always in dialogue with contributors.
The anthology format is intentionally flexible and will depend on funding. It is conceived as a multi-genre and, where fitting, multilingual publication based in English, appealing to diverse audiences and showing the richness of responses to The Tale of Kiều. Depending on funding, it could take the place of – or complement – an exhibition catalogue.
This website documents the project’s development but is not the final digital platform. Pending funding, we plan to build a more extensive, dedicated platform to host contributions, translations, and resources as part of a living archive. This will allow us to share additional works beyond the anthology and exhibition, and to sustain an ongoing dialogue.
Selection, Rights, Compensation
Yes. Contributors retain full copyright. The project requests only non-exclusive rights for the anthology, exhibition, and related communications.
We hope to offer a modest honorarium once funding is secured, though we cannot guarantee payment at this stage. Just as important, your work will be part of an international publication and group exhibition, giving it visibility across different contexts. Participation also opens the door to connecting with peers worldwide who are engaging with The Tale of Kiều through literature, art, and cultural practice.
Timeline & Flexibility
- Fall 2025 – Email us your intent to submit – introduce yourself and your idea
- January – February 2026: Final submissions window
- Spring 2026: Results announced
- 2027: Anthology publication and Berlin exhibition
We aim to keep to this timeline, but all dates are dependent on funding and institutional partnerships.
Support & Contact
See our Resources page for translations, essays, and background materials, and our Blog for notes and updates. You are also welcome to email us with additional links to share with the contributor community.
For all questions: mail@tracingkieu.net or use our contact form. For submissions details, see our Submissions page