Anh Do/Los Angeles Times
Before Phien Vo left Vietnam to journey to America for freedom, he took with him thousands of literary artifacts including letters, books and essays, thinking the Communist would destroy them if he did not take them. He was right. Along with his wife and teenage daughter, he came to America and began his new life.
Photo of Phien Vo and his wife. He passed away Tuesday at the age of 89.
Turns out, the books and writings he saved were precious memories and stories of a time long gone and without his saving them, they would have vanished.
Vo died Tuesday at a medical facility in Santa Ana. He was 89.
The collection of essarys, titled “Van Hoc Mien Nam, Tong Quan,” was an overview of South Vietnamese literature from 1954 to 1975 and is well known in the community. The book featured the work of more than 200 authors and documented the period’s artistic and literary movements. Its 1999 debut was followed by six other books exploring genres such as poetry and plays.
Born Doan The Nhon on Oct. 20, 1925, Vo chose “Vo Phien” as his pen name.
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