Students with Pulitzer Prize winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen. Courtesy photo

Courtesy photo

By CATHERINE PURANANANDA
AP Literature & Composition Teacher
Los Alamos High School

AP Literature and Composition students and alumni from Los Alamos High School were invited to attend the Santa Fe International Literary Festival on Saturday, May 17, to hear a talk given by Pulitzer Prize winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen.

Catherine Puranananda teaches Nguyen’s novel The Sympathizer every year, and it is typically a favorite read amongst her students. Zoe Bent felt it was “an amazing twist on what we have done in class” in which “discussions center around our own interpretations of the author’s intentions and choices, while the talk provided us with insights directly from the author.”

Nguyen signed the students’ books and inquired about each one’s post-high school plans. For student Natalie Crawford, it was “the coolest thing that happened to me this year.” Puranananda has plans to expand her work with the literary festival next year.