Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn (born 9 March 1945 in

Sơn Tây ''Toxicodendron succedaneum'', the wax tree, Japanese Hazenoki tree (Sumac or wax tree), sơn in Vietnam or charão in Portuguese, is a flowering plant species in the genus ''Toxicodendron'' found in Asia, although it has been planted elsewhere, ...

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

) is a

Vietnamese-Canadian Vietnamese Canadians ( vi, Người Canada gốc Việt; french: Canadiens vietnamiens) are Canadian citizens of Vietnamese ancestry. As of 2016, there are 240,615 Vietnamese Canadians, most of whom reside in the provinces of Ontario, British Co ...

writer, essayist and television personality. Ngạn was born in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, but his family moved to

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

when the Geneva Accords divided Vietnam in 1954. After university and service in the

Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; french: Armée de la république du Viêt Nam) composed the ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April ...

, Ngạn was imprisoned by the victorious communists after the

fall of Saigon The Fall of Saigon, also known as the Liberation of Saigon by North Vietnamese or Liberation of the South by the Vietnamese government, and known as Black April by anti-communist overseas Vietnamese was the capture of Saigon, the capital of ...

in 1975 and did forced labour in a re-education camp up until 1978, an experience described in his autobiography, ''The Will Of Heaven''. After his release, Ngạn escaped by boat to

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

in 1979. During the closing stages of the journey, storms hit the boat and knocked it over within sight of land. Ngạn's wife and child drowned and he was pulled unconscious from the water. He was sponsored by the Canadian government and brought to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

in 1980, moving to

Prince Rupert, British Columbia Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Its location is on Kaien Island near the Alaskan panhandle. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and has a population of 12, ...

, and in 1985 to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

.Yale University, Southeast Asia Studies, ''The Vietnam Forum'' (1985). Ngạn was formally known for co-hosting

Thuy Nga Thuy (; oc, Tuí) is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées department An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a h ...

's'' Paris by Night'' with Vietnamese personality Kỳ Duyên. He co-authored ''Ballad Of Mulan'' and ''The Blind Man and the Cripple – Orchard Village''.

References

Sources

* Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn with E.E. Richey, ''The Will of Heaven: A Story of One Vietnamese and the End of His World'', Dutton, 1982:

External links

Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn's YouTube channel
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nguyen, Ngoc Ngan Vietnamese emigrants to Canada Canadian male novelists 1945 births Living people Thuy Nga Productions Canadian writers of Asian descent Writers of Vietnamese descent Nguyen dynasty Masters of ceremonies Canadian male essayists 20th-century Canadian essayists 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian essayists 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian male writers Vietnamese Roman Catholics