Beth Nguyen, Author & Professor

“It made me think about how our sense of identity really gets mixed up in names that other people give to us.”

In real life, Bich Minh Nguyen now goes by the name Beth Nguyen - Beth is an award-winning writer and professor. In honor of AAPI Heritage Month, we wanted to share a conversation from the other podcast Modern Minorities - which features minority voices for all of our majority ears. Born in Saigon, Beth is the author of books like Stealing Buddha's Dinner, Short Girls, Pioneer Girl, and Owner of a Lonely Heart - her memoir in essays about post refugee life coming out later this year. Beth 2021 New Yorker article - “⁠America Ruined My Name For Me⁠” unpacks a necessary conversation about identity, adaption and assimilation - especially for those whose name is not hard to pronounce or understand. A refugee and a mother, Beth’s moving work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, The New York Times, and Literary Hub. Beth's awards and honors include an American Book Award, a PEN/Jerard Award from the PEN American Center, a Bread Loaf fellowship, and best book of the year honors from the Chicago Tribune and Library Journal. Beth has taught at Purdue University and the University of San Francisco - she is and is currently a professor of creative writing at the University of Wisconsin. You’ll enjoy this candid conversation about growing between the cultures of two worlds