Note: The University of Tulsa holds the broadcasting license for KWGS
Take a stroll on Main Street near downtown Tulsa, and you’ll find a storefront with the Vietnamese words “kệ sách” in the window.
Even if you don’t speak Vietnamese or notice the translation, you might figure out what these words mean if you step inside.
Kệ Sách — meaning “bookshelf” — features dozens of book titles highlighting Vietnamese culture inside the Rooms Annex south of downtown. It’s supported by NAM Common, an initiative aimed at highlighting Vietnamese culture, and the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition.
“There’s a lot of stories that are not told or are not heard of, there’s a lot of bias and stereotypes about Vietnamese people in general, so this space was kind of to highlight the books that highlight representation and storytelling and narratives that so much of our community needs,” said Nic Annette Miller, one of the founders of NAM Common.
Miller formed NAM Common with her partner Việt Nguyễn. Both Miller’s and Nguyễn’s families fled Vietnam in 1975, the year the South Vietnamese capitol of Saigon fell. The event marked the end of the Vietnam War.
Miller and Nguyễn say the details of their families’ immigration to the states are sparse.
“That’s something that’s kind of typical, because our parents’ generation, they tend to not talk about it,” Miller said.
But Kệ Sách doesn’t shy away from history. Nguyễn said the reading room is open two weeks before and two weeks after the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon because there’s “different perspectives on how people want to acknowledge that date.”
“The genres of the books kind of relate to our own journey of exploring what has kind of been hidden from us as we were growing up, and the history of Vietnam, and not only that, but just the diaspora of all these artists, regardless of if they’re here in Vietnam or in the United States,” Nguyễn said.
Nguyễn says Kệ Sách has drawn a lot of traffic from people walking by the storefront. He says it’s exciting when Vietnamese people walk by and see the front of the gallery because they know they’ll be represented well.
Other visitors have been more intentional, like the members of the University of Tulsa’s Vietnamese Student Association. The students visited Saturday morning and enjoyed Vietnamese coffee and sticky rice while browsing book titles.
Nhan Nguyen, one of the members of the student association, said he appreciated the short tables and stools in the space, which resemble community spaces in Vietnam. He also appreciated the book collection.
“It’s a really good way of seeing Vietnamese people and how, like, say, the perspectives of our parents and our grandparents in the past who actually experienced the war might differ from us as the younger generation, especially the ones that are growing in America,” he said.
Miller and Nguyễn plan to create more spaces that celebrate Vietnamese culture. Miller said she wants to do creative workshops, events to encourage Vietnamese speaking and food programs.
In the meantime, they hope people stop by Kệ Sách.
“We hope people come and that they feel excited about Vietnamese literature and hearing about Vietnamese stories,” Miller said.
Kệ Sách is open Wednesday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through May 10.
