About this episode
Born in Central Vietnam at the height of the Vietnam War, Sister Dang Nghiem grew up singing made-up songs to comfort herself and express her suffering. After moving to the US, she began writing poetry at the encouragement of an English teacher, and eventually, she ordained as a nun in the Plum Village tradition following the sudden death of her partner. Her latest book, The River in Me: Verses of Transformation , brings together over three decades of her poetry, charting her own journey from turmoil and loss to tranquility and compassion. In this episode of Tricycle Talks , Tricycle ’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Sister D to discuss how writing has helped her process the violence she witnessed, why she hopes her poetry can offer not just a description of suffering but a way out of it, and how gathas , or verses, can transform mundane activities into moments of awareness. Please note that this episode includes discussion of sexual abuse and suicide.