Going Home, Coming Home

Bilingual English/Vietnamese. This summer, Ami Chi is taking a trip to far off Vietnam, where the streets are crowded with zipping scooters and fruit is shaped like dragons and stars.

This summer, Ami Chi is taking a trip to far off Vietnam, where the streets are crowded with zipping scooters and fruit is shaped like dragons and stars. To her parents, Vietnam is still home-a home they haven't seen since they left during the war. But all this talk of going back home leaves Ami Chi confused. How can you go back home to a place you've never been?

Ami Chi finds her answer in the rolling green rice paddies that blanket the countryside, in the bustling Cho Lon market, and in the quiet rooms of her grandmother's house. Vietnam may be nothing like America, but some things-like the help of a new friend-make this strange place feel familiar. Before long, Ami Chi finds that sometimes, you can travel farther than you ever thought possible and still find yourself at home.

Poet Truong Tran uses delicate, lyrical prose to craft this tender story of leaving and finding places that make up who we are. Ann Phong's lush paintings complete this unforgettable journey with vibrant color and loving detail.

Truong Tran was born in Vietnam. In 1975 he immigrated with his family to the San Francisco Bay Area. Truong has received several poetry fellowships, and his poems have been published in literary journals such as ZZYZZYVA, The American Voice, and Poetry East. The author of three critically acclaimed books of poetry, Truong currently lives in San Francisco.

Ann Phong was born in Vietnam. In 1981 she escaped Vietnam by boat, and after living for a year in refugee camps in the Philippines and Malaysia, she settled in Southern California. Ann has shown her work in galleries and museums in the U.S. and abroad. She currently teaches art at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.