Marie France Etienne
Directed by Doug Reilly and Gwynne Decker
Produced by Tom D'Agostino

Vietnamese literature traditionally has been marked by the influence of dominating external powers, most notably China and France, as well as by an emerging sense of unity and national identity. In this segment, Professor Marie-France Etienne explores the evolution of Vietnam’s written languages and the development of its rich and multifaceted literary tradition.  She concludes with an examination of contemporary Vietnamese literature, which has flourished with the implementation of doi moi renovation policies in the latter half of the 1980s. A new generation of writers, both within Vietnam and in exile, has emerged with a strong voice.