The reading, organized by 92NY’s Unterberg Poetry Center, instead moved to a bookstore in downtown Manhattan, without any sponsorship from the Y.
92NY confirmed afterward that the decision not to go ahead with the event stemmed from Nguyen’s public statements about Israel.
On Saturday, as news of the cancellation of Nguyen’s event spread, writers began announcing they would withdraw from upcoming appearances.
The poet Paisley Rekdal and the critic Andrea Long Chu also wrote on X that they were pulling out of their events.
The turmoil at the Y is part of continuing cultural repercussions over the war between Israel and Hamas.
Persons:
Viet Thanh Nguyen, 92NY’s, 92NY, ”, Israel, “, Dylan Thomas, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Philip Roth, Salman Rushdie, Toni Morrison, Richard Ford, John Edgar Wideman, Roxane Gay, Christina Sharpe, Saidiya Hartman, Dionne Brand, Paisley Rekdal, Andrea Long Chu, ” Rekdal, ” Chu, Chu, Sarah Chihaya, Sophie Herron, Nguyen, Min Jin Lee, Bernard Schwartz, Schwartz
Organizations:
Young, Hebrew, Jewish, Yorkers, Academy of American, London, divesting, McNally Jackson
Locations:
Israel, Manhattan, States, Gaza, Lower Manhattan