On December 1st, DGS had the honor of welcoming Dr. Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai - poet, novelist, and translator to meet and speak with our students. She arrived in a flowing Áo dài, her gentle Southern voice instantly warming the hall, drawing everyone into her story as though inviting old friends to gather around.

She began with the turbulent years of her childhood. In those uncertain, fragile years, books became her refuge: a place where she could step out of poverty, where the world widened, her imagination soared, and where the very first seeds of her dream to write were quietly planted in the heart of little Quế Mai.

“The literature in English about the war and post-war Việt Nam is very rich, but most of these works center on Americans and lack voices from inside Việt Nam,” she said. And The Mountains Sing - her very first novel written in English - crossed all geographical distances and cultural boundaries, bringing the voice of the Vietnamese, written by a Vietnamese, to readers around the world, so that the whole world could see a Việt Nam full of loss yet also resilient, rich in lyricism and depth. The book won the Runner-Up for the 2021 Dayton Literary Peace Prize in Fiction.

Even while writing in English, she insisted on keeping her Vietnamese name with full diacritics on the book cover, along with Vietnamese character names, verses, and proverbs “According to international publishing conventions, my name shouldn’t include diacritics. Without them, I’m no longer Quế Mai but ‘Que Mai.’ I told my editor I was willing to sacrifice commercial value if it meant keeping my name in true Vietnamese form.” She added gently, “I am deeply proud to be Vietnamese, proud to speak our language. And my dear students, wherever you may go in the future, be proud of who you are.”

From a girl selling goods on the street who didn’t know a single English word, to one of Việt Nam’s most prominent contemporary writers, Quế Mai is a living testament to the power of dreams. “Each person holds far more strength than we realize. With perseverance, discipline, and the courage not to give up, every dream can become real. If I can become a writer in English, you can achieve your dreams, too,” she said, her eyes glowing with warmth and encouragement.

The Q&A session unfolded with excitement, hands shot up across the room, questions innocent and curious. She listened with care, answered with sincerity, and opened new windows into literature, storytelling, and the long, patient journey of nurturing a dream.

In the afternoon, that inspiration continued in the creative writing workshop “Our Story, Our Heritage”. She guided students through each stage of the writing process finding ideas, outlining, drafting, revising, and sharing. She moved gently around the classroom, pausing beside each student, offering small conversations, gentle prompts, and quiet encouragement.

For DGS, this exchange was more than an event. It was an act of planting seeds, cultivating a love of literature, strengthening cultural identity, and awakening the “mountains sing” within each student, rising quietly in their hearts.