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Paul Christiansen is a Saigon-based writer and editor.
Stories by Paul Christiansen
254 stories
Loading creator
Paul Christiansen is a Saigon-based writer and editor.
254 stories
Music & Arts
What is worthy of being painted?
Literature
'Left-Eared' (Người Thuận Tai Trái) is a short work of fiction originally written in Vietnamese by author Trần Thị NgH and translated with her assistance for Saigoneer.
Literature
“Vietnamese communities can sometimes/often demand conformity and tradition of people in order to feel a part of things; I have always seen diaCRITICS as an opportunity to trouble the definitions, push the boundaries, to include the atypical voices and stories and viewpoints.”
Postcards
What if cải lương tuồng cổ costumes became a new trend?
Postcards
Vietnam makes no special safety-protocol exceptions for Santa Claus.
Travel
Perched on top of a hilly area, Da Lat's Cao Dai temple is a towering structure of vibrant aesthetics and intriguing mysticism.
Saigon Hẻm Gems
If Vừng Ơi Mở Ra Cafe were a person, it would be your older, more sophisticated and welcoming friend.
Food Culture
Which rendition of bánh mì xíu mại you prefer may say more about you than it does Da Lat’s beloved meatballs.
Saigon Hẻm Gems
”The flower was never meant to survive the fruit's triumph.”
Loạt Soạt
Why must we continue talking about war?
Music & Arts
What would it mean to sit on the shoulder-attached epaulet of a military uniform that denotes rank?
In Plain Sight
We’ve all wanted something we can’t have. Something we can see but can’t touch. Something dangled in front of us but just out of reach like an especially succulent apple growing on a branch inches beyond a giraffe’s outstretched tongue. That was me during the Covid pandemic. My balcony overlooks the city’s zoo - every dawn I watch elephants emerge from their hut and eat the day’s first sweetgrass. I’m frequently awakened at three am by peacock cries - a sound somewhere between a meow, a scream and the ping of a pick-ax striking through stone and shattering a diamond. The zoo is my favorite place in Saigon and for a month and a half, I could gaze upon it but not visit.
Film & TV
“The lonely sound of a lute cannot cure your pain. You need Tơ’s singing to bring you serenity.”
Snack Attack
If I were ever to believe in a generous god, the existence of durian would be the first piece of evidence I cite.
Vietnam
Fame, murder, sex and music — this story has it all.
Music & Arts
Feeling monochromatic? Well, Saigoneer can help with that.
Literature
“In good times arts are magical, and in tough times they are essential. That’s when you need them the most. Art makes you human.”
Postcards
"Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'"
