Linh S. Nguyễn
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Linh S. Nguyễn
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Planting the bonsai off-centre: making space for epistemological emergence
Planting the bonsai off-centre: making space for epistemological emergence

To decolonize education, we must thoroughly transform our conception of what constitutes knowledge-making and adjust our systems accordingly.

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Student LifeLinh NguyenMay 19, 2025Learning, learning strategies, Education, knowledge, school, grad school, University, community, creativity
Interview with Lina Fadel by Dita N Love, Linh S. Nguyễn & Jolin Tang
Interview with Lina Fadel by Dita N Love, Linh S. Nguyễn & Jolin Tang

“I defend fragments because they define and mirror my own hybrid existence, where fragments of memories and experiences intersect to form a nuanced understanding of self and place.”

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LiteratureLinh NguyenMay 20, 2024interview, Immigration, academia, writing, writer
Villains, Fighting, and the Reduction of Complex Stories
Villains, Fighting, and the Reduction of Complex Stories

Perpetuating the same narratives of conflict in mass media not only dictates a cultural hierarchy of what is considered important but also creates distance in how we are able to see ourselves represented in stories at large.

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Pop cultureLinh NguyenMarch 29, 2024Avatar, storytelling, TV show, Film, Disney
My 3 favourite reads of 2023
My 3 favourite reads of 2023

The stories stayed with me long after I finished, and I still seek out certain essays or refer them to loved ones going through a hard time. 

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LiteratureLinh NguyenNovember 27, 2023Books, Reading, Literature
How to Survive Heartbreak
How to Survive Heartbreak

I had planned to write a swashbuckling adventure of demigods defeating villains against-all-odds, but I have never defeated a villain. I have only loved and been loved and lost love. The simple version of why I wrote this story is in the attempt to get over a boy.

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Love and RelationshipsLinh NguyenAugust 17, 2023Love, heartbreak, break ups, Relationships, Romance, Friends
Greta Gerwig's "Barbie": A Story That Holds
Greta Gerwig's "Barbie": A Story That Holds

Gerwig’s films resist storytelling structures that serve masculinity. From Frances Ha (2012) to Barbie (2023), her stories embrace and celebrate what is traditionally considered feminine. They depict the truest parts of existing as a woman in the world.

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Pop cultureLinh NguyenAugust 11, 2023Barbie, Movies, movie, Film, cinema, Cinema, TV, Feminism, First World Feminism
The best books that feel like slipping into a fairytale
The best books that feel like slipping into a fairytale

These books capture that magic that drew me to books in the first place, and I revisit them when I need to fall in love with the world again.  

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LiteratureLinh NguyenMay 29, 2023Literature, Books, Fantasy, Reading
Lessons from Camila Dunne: The Strength in Staying
Lessons from Camila Dunne: The Strength in Staying

We do owe people things, and we cannot build any kind of community or resistance without owing.

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Pop cultureLinh NguyenMarch 27, 2023Love, Relationships, TV, Books
Linh Nguyễn’s book No Place Like Home is a fantasy world you’ll never want to leave
Linh Nguyễn’s book No Place Like Home is a fantasy world you’ll never want to leave

No Place Like Home is an immigration-story spin on the Wizard of Oz.

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Literature, PersonalLinh NguyenMarch 20, 2023No place like home, Books, interview
No Place Like Home - Quill and Quire Review
No Place Like Home - Quill and Quire Review

“It’s a powerful and uplifting message, and kids adjusting to new homes will find a lot of themselves in Lan’s journey, and perhaps a bit of Lan’s courage in themselves.”

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LiteratureLinh NguyenMarch 15, 2023No place like home, reviews, Literature, Books
A Love Letter to Love (Cont'd)
A Love Letter to Love (Cont'd)

I want to believe that love finds us in the middle as well. Love finds us in the mess, in the muddy spring days, rainy nights, 3am departures as my bedroom door swings shut with the heartbreaking sound of finality.

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Love and RelationshipsLinh NguyenNovember 11, 2022Love, Relationships, Letter, art
The Summer I Turned Pretty: The Romance of Female Friendships
The Summer I Turned Pretty: The Romance of Female Friendships

The Summer I Turned Pretty affirms Laurel and Susanna’s capacity as responsible, loving mothers simultaneously with them having impulsive, carefree fun. It made me believe that life doesn’t end after having kids.

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Pop cultureLinh NguyenAugust 3, 2022Love, rom coms, Romance, Friends, to all the boys I’ve loved before, the summer I turned pretty
A Love Letter to Love
A Love Letter to Love

I needed to know that falling in love takes no prerequisites—that it can be fleeting, nurturing, anchored in a lake at sunset or a glance across the table over hot pot—no less valid or life-changing, regardless of the form it takes.

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Love and RelationshipsLinh NguyenMay 9, 2022Love, Relationships, Romance, Life, Lessons
Visiting Gales: Interview with Story Planet
Visiting Gales: Interview with Story Planet

I’ve always struggled with the idea of growing up, probably because I read too many fantasy adventures as a child and desperately wanted my own. When I inevitably grew older, I began reflecting on what the idea of “grown up” actually means.

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Literature, CareerLinh NguyenSeptember 22, 2021growing up, Literature, art, artist, storytelling, University
The Road Less Travelled: Three artists reimagine success and career
The Road Less Travelled: Three artists reimagine success and career

It’s easy to romanticize quitting your job on a whim and pursuing art. The reality is steeped in challenges of opportunity, financial constraints, and stress-filled planning.

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CareerLinh NguyenJune 14, 2021Career, writing, artist, Learning, writer, Arts, Work
Nose Kisses on the Screen
Nose Kisses on the Screen

Traditional love languages disappoint us, but we are immigrants. Again and again, I witnessed the ways we are adept at starting anew, lives from scratch, snippets cobbled together like a lullaby.

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PersonalLinh NguyenJune 9, 2021Asian Canadian, Immigration, Diversity, Diaspora, Vietnam, Family, Relationships, Love
National Indigenous History Month: A Reading List
National Indigenous History Month: A Reading List

Fiction can convey ideas that reports cannot — but it’s not a replacement for fact and history. Meanwhile, data is one form of storytelling but also not necessary to validate lived experiences and truths. Reading widely across genres is key.

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Literature, Pop culture, AdvocacyLinh NguyenMay 31, 2021Books, Literature, Film, TV, Movies, art, Indigenous, allyshipComment
Rejecting Genius as a Vietnamese Artist
Rejecting Genius as a Vietnamese Artist

Art takes an incredible amount of time, resources, and emotional and logistical support. To reduce it to talent and discuss success in terms of inevitability means to rob anyone not born into wealth and connections with an opportunity to even start.

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Advocacy, CareerLinh NguyenMarch 26, 2021Asian Canadian, writing, writer, Arts, artist, art, advocacy, representation, creativity, allyship
The Sixth Love Language
The Sixth Love Language

I learned to love in the language of food, but the consequences of that ran deep.

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Wellbeing, PersonalLinh NguyenNovember 25, 2020Love, Food, health and wellness, body, Body Image, Self-care, self-love, self-esteem, Vietnam, Relationships
Falling in Love with a Plant
Falling in Love with a Plant

There’s always a chance to build a relationship and start fresh, if you’re lucky.

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WellbeingLinh NguyenNovember 12, 2020plant, Self-care, Wellness, health, health and wellnessComment
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Featured
My Ten Favourite University Readings
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Bringing the Magic Home
Why We Need Cinderella

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