Lovecidal: walking with the disappeared

308 Pages·2017·9.481 MB·English

by  Trinh, Thi Minh-Ha

Lovecidal

Lovecidal
Walking with
the Disappeared
Trinh T. Minh-ha
Fordham University Press
New York 2016
Copyright © 2016 Trinh T. Minh-ha or Moongift Films
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a re-
trieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechani-
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reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
All art works are by Jean-Paul Bourdier (www.jeanpaulbourdier.com)
Analog photos © Jean-Paul Bourdier or Moongift Films.
Fordham University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of
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Visit us online at www.fordhampress.com.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016938823
Printed in the United States of America
18 17 16 5 4 3 2 1
First edition
In loving memory of
Tr.inh Dình Phi
(1928 –2014)
whose gentle silent walk in life
through times of war, exile, and isolation
taught us to remember
kindness
shining our light
when feeling the darkness

Contents
Somewhere in the Process 1
Blind Energy 2
how to write an ending? 5
Liquid Denouement 8
Enhanced Security: “He Won” 16
Exiting: “The Dark Night Policy” 26
specter of vietnam 35
The Smell of Victory 37
Screen Replay 42
twilight walk 49
the matter of war 55
The Oil Stain 57
Deep in the Red 62
“When Will They Be Ready, Really?” 65
Small Cell, Large Cell 70
between victor and victor 77
The Strength to Lift a Hair 80
Twin Victories 87
A Legacy of Inflation 89
she, the wayfarer 93
Walking with the Disappeared 96
Circle of Love: Pink, White, and Black 100
thriving on a D-stroll 109
A Hole in the Heart 111
Virtual Monument Censored 113
Miles of Strangeness 116
Light Weight 120
the mole’s empire 121
The Other Victory 123
Power of the Unseen 131
feeling the way out 135
The Crawl to Peace 137
When the General Cries 141
Washington’s Visual Scar 145
the world is watching 149
Lotus in Tears 151
“I Am the Reality” 154
In the Night of Becoming 160
Small Acts on the Roof of the World 167
walk for rain 179
the new rebels 187
The Blank Page 189
“Sensitive Cases” 193
displaced, dispossessed, disappeared 203
The Great Uprooting 205
Sea of Immigrants 210
Rising from Mud and Muck 214
interval of resistance 225
The Empty Chair 227
The Image under Erasure 231
Lotus Bomb(ed) 235
the screensaver’s light 243
The Ultimate Protest 245
True Person of No Rank 249
A Bridge, a Boat, a Spark of Plenty 256
this sky, which is not blue 267
Notes 279
Index 291
Lovecidal