by Chloë Moore ’24
To kick off this semester’s series of Literary Salons, the English Department welcomed award-winning writer, artist, and graphic novelist Trung Le Nguyen on February 21st. Invited and introduced by Professor Michael Prior, Nguyen is the author and illustrator of the graphic novel The Magic Fish. Trung spoke to us about his personal journey to becoming an artist, the role that his family history played in the narrative of The Magic Fish, and also shared insights into the publishing world from the perspective of a graphic novelist.
Although The Magic Fish has achieved international acclaim, Trung remains close to Minnesota. He received his undergraduate degree in Studio Art from Hamline University with a minor in Art History. It was during these undergrad years that he also became interested in the art of turn-of-the-century advertisements, and interned at the Minnesota Historical Society doing research on costuming for society’s reenactors. All this, he said, influenced the costume and character designs for The Magic Fish, as clothing choices became a central part of placing the various threads of the story in specific historical moments.
The Magic Fish follows three storylines: a version of the Vietnamese Cinderella story, the narrative of a Vietnamese woman escaping via boat after the fall of Saigon, and the story of her young son, Tam, coming to terms with his queer identity. Each storyline has its own color palette (red for Tam, yellow for the mother, blue for the fairytale), and the book moves between these stories fluidly. Trung shared that the color scheme was not originally his idea, as he envisioned the book in black and white, but a compromise with the editor, who wanted the book in full color.
Apart from his work on The Magic Fish, Trung has also done work for DC Comics, Marvel, and other institutions. He regularly gives talks to students, especially those in the middle- and high-school years. We ended the night with an opportunity for students to ask questions and get books signed (pro tip: getting a graphic novelist to sign your book means you get a cool doodle!). Overall, it was a great night, and a wonderful kickoff to this semester’s slate of salons!
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Special thanks to Trung Le Nguyen for his time and to Professor Michael Prior for inviting him.