Saint Mary’s University will bestow an honorary doctorate on award-winning author Kim Thúy at the 2023 Fall Convocation.
Kim Thúy
Kim Thúy’s story began when, at age ten, she fled post-war Vietnam with her parents and siblings. In 1978, the Thúy family joined the mass migration of more than a million Vietnamese known as Thuyền nhân Việt Nam, the “boat people”, who took to the sea in makeshift boats. After living in a refugee camp in Malaysia, Thúy and her family settled in Granby, Québec.
Thúy held several careers over the years as a seamstress, interpreter, lawyer and restaurant owner before she decided to write about the refugee experience. Her debut novel, Ru, first published in French in 2009, tells the story of her family’s long journey from Vietnam to Québec and the discovery of their new home in Canada. Ru — which translates as "lullaby" in Vietnamese — won the 2010 Governor General’s Literary Award and was shortlisted for the New Academy Prize in Literature. Thúy’s published oeuvre includes her 2017 collection of cross-stories of exile titled À toi, with French-Slovakian-Swiss author Pascal Janovjak.
Thúy’s novel mãn in 2013 explored the power of cuisine and connection to family and identity. It was in 2016 that Vi was published, navigating the migratory experience from Thúy’s mother’s experience. Beyond her creative work, Thúy assumed the role of the Québec representative for Le Petit Robert and was a contributor to the book L’Autisme expliqué aux non-autistes. In October 2017, Thúy wrote Le secret des Vietnamiennes, a cookbook containing recipes from Vietnam.
Thúy’s books have been distributed across 43 countries and territories and have been enjoyed in 31 languages. Thúy lives in Montréal where she devotes her time to writing. She holds a degree in linguistics and translation and a degree in law from the Université de Montréal. In 2015, she was a recipient of the Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards. Among the many honours she has received, Thúy was knighted Chevalière de l’Ordre national du Québec by the Government of Québec in 2015, and knighted Chevalière de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Republic in 2023.
“Saint Mary’s University is honoured to recognize Kim Thúy,” says President Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray. “Her writing illuminates the immigrant experience and Canada is enriched by her contributions to literature and to society.”
Thúy will receive an Honorary Doctor of Letters at Fall Convocation on September 23, 2023. The convocation ceremonies will be live-streamed at www.smu.ca/graduation and on the SMU Halifax Facebook page.