“To Work, When The World Breaks Your Heart”

Oct 9

I call Ma nightly, usually after dinner. She knows this but she

always asks ăn cơm chưa.

Without waiting for my response, she

inquires about the noise she hears on my end.

I’m putting away the dishes, I say, rolling my eyes.

What did you do today?

Work. Read and write. This isn’t a list. I am reminding her what

my work entails.

She never asks what I write about. I don’t have the verbal fluency

to describe to her what it is that I write.

And I write in a language illegible to her.

Do you want to know what I’m writing?

What are you writing?

Ðang viết thơ

Thơ gì? Thơ tình?

No. Thơ thất tình.

Who broke your heart today?

Everyone.

Anna Nguyen had been a displaced PhD student for many years,

in many different programs and departments at many different

universities in many different countries. She decided to rewrite her

dissertation in the form of creative non-fiction as an MFA student

at Stonecoast at the University of Southern Maine, which blends

her theoretical training in literary analysis, science and technology

studies, and social theory to reflect on institutions, language,

expertise, the role of citations, and food. She also hosts a podcast,

Critical Literary Consumption, which features authors, poets, and

scholars discussing their written work and their thoughts on

reading and writing practices.

“We: Nothing”