Two Shores is the first collection of poetry in English by a Vietnamese immigrant to the West. Born in Hanoi in 1940 and then moving to Saigon in 1954, Thuong Vuong-Riddick first describes life in Vietnam under the influence of the Japanese, the Chinese, the Vietminh, the French, and the Americans, as well as the difficulties of living through "the big Hunger."

In the second part of the book, she deals with her second shore, her life as an immigrant: first in Paris where she experienced the student revolution of May 1968; then in Montreal where she taught at the Universities of Montreal and McGill. Married now to a Canadian, she is making a new life for herself in Vancouver.

Two Shores is a dual language edition: Vuong-Riddick wrote the poems first in English and then recreated them in French.

Thoug Vuong—Riddick was born in Hanoĥ in 1940151;during the French regime. Under Ng244;-Dinh Diëm, she moved to Saĥgon and obtained her BA degree, but was soon caught up in the war of political factions. In 1962 she went to Paris where she acquired a second BA, and MA and her Doctorate. She taught French in both Saĥgon and Paris. In 1969 she emigrated to Canada where she taught literature at McGill and the University of Montreal. In 1981 she moved to Victoria, BC, where she taught at the University of Victoria until 1989. Vuong—Riddick currently lives in Vancouver where she is a full—time writer and is at work on a history of her life in Vietnam.

Thuong Vuong-Riddick's profile page