The Tale of Kiều – in Short

Written by Nguyễn Du around 1813 (exact date unknown), The Tale of Kiều is a cornerstone of Vietnamese literature. In 3,254 lục bát (alternating six-eight) couplets, it tells of Thúy Kiều, a gifted young woman who sacrifices love and freedom to save her family, then survives years of displacement before a complex return. The poem has been quoted, memorized, and reinterpreted across imperial, colonial, war, socialist, and reform eras. Its themes – exile, resilience, transformation, return – speak to diasporic experience. Tracing Kiều invites individuals from the global Vietnamese diaspora to connect their own lives to this living classic through new creative work and resonant existing work.