We wanted to make time to read Truyện Kiều together – in Vietnamese, German, and English, with people who know the poem and people discovering it. A reading group seemed a good place to start.
The idea is simple: meet, read selected passages aloud in Vietnamese, German, and English, and talk about them. We’re curious about how people hear the same lines differently, what the translations do with them, and what feels familiar or difficult to understand today.
From there, the format grew. Dạ Thảo Phương proposed bringing in music and conceived the poetry performances for the first two sessions, Hoa trôi – Drifting Flower and Băng lối vườn khuya – Crossing the Night Garden, with several people contributing voices, music, and images. The later sessions will include film and invite contributions around Kiều’s changing roles and relationships. Reading and conversation remain at the center.
We’re organizing four sessions on a volunteer basis at parallelgesellschaft × Galerie Nord in Berlin-Moabit. We were drawn to the collective’s work with poetry, art, and performance, and are grateful that they’re making room for us.
This is a small way of exploring the question behind Tracing Kiều: how can this early 19th-century poem resonate with the Vietnamese diaspora and beyond? We want to hear what others find in it, too.
Everyone is welcome whether they know Kiều well or are simply curious. No knowledge of Vietnamese is required, and admission is free.