I have written Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday each week for months now about each of these books as I have added them to the stack or as each has come up to the top again.
Some titles are old friends of mine, some are by old friends, some are as new to me as I expect they are to those I address. My purpose is to introduce in English the world literature occasioned by the nation of Viet Nam.
By literature I mean something you might want to read. I introduce the works under the assumption that you have not heard before from a French republican, Southern liberal, and Vietnamese nationalist about any of this stuff.
Today is the Sabbath as I write though I am an increasingly observant Jew. Sunday the family plans to celebrate a birthday. I hope to be back at it Tuesday.
I write 3 each week to keep 2 months ahead of publication. Perhaps when you have opened this in May you will scroll down through the stack of Viet Nam literature noticed here and see the nation and the world you are taking part in by reading these columns.
This was the second Viet Nam letter of 5 so far from the janitor about our work. The first posted on February 9, 2022. Then the third went out on August 17, 2022, the fourth on March 6, 2023, and fifth on April 11, 2023.
Viet Nam letters respects the property of others under paragraph 107 of United States Code Title 17. If we asked for permission it wouldn’t be criticism. We explain our fair use at length in the letter of September 12, 2022.
The colophon of these Viet Nam letters, directly above, shows the janitor speaking with poet David A. Willson on a Veterans Day.
Promo copy:
Janitor's note from Viet Nam Literature Project. That is my title and what they pay me for. Editorial and fundraising are volunteer shifts.
I dropped editor because it gave the impression that there was a budget and a salary, or release time from an academic post. A curator would be the art historian who writes the chat boxes distracting you from what you should be looking at in the museum.
Not that there is anything wrong with a curator, or a docent. But me, I am the janitor, leaning on a broom and in your face. You may find yourself wondering, as in a museum, whether he is part of the installation, performance art.
Oh, it's my jay oh bee. Well, my second one, part-time. Mostly I do maintenance for a thoroughbred, her grand-foals and livestock. What I want here is your attention.
Since I started cleaning the floors in February we have won the attention of about 25 readers for each book and author. Were I lecturing in a university on this topic that would be a rock-solid return.
This being the internet I think we will all feel better, more cosy while remaining avant-garde, at say 4 hundred. Please consider signing up for the visible audience for free.
Please consider patronizing us all at $50/year, or the whole enterprise at $250/year. It's a charity, like church or the theater. Oooo. I may start triple-dipping as sexton and usher as well.