Killing It!

[Saigon, 11/12/25]

I’m sitting in Billiards Club Number 7 next to a tall Tiger Crystal. They had run out of Lager mostly because I went through several cans yesterday. I had to get into the right mood for last night’s reading. Thirty-five years ago, I would resort to Bailey’s Irish Cream if nothing else worked. Reading went well enough. Poet Bùi Chát, novelist Nguyễn Viện, painter Lê Quý Anh Hào and editor Minh Bùi Jones showed up. There were Gen Z faces. Poet Lý Đợi introduced me. During the open reading, Lê Văn Đồng read several of my poems I had entirely forgotten about.

Before the reading, I had a great chat with Benjamin Schiller, the venue’s owner. The Bavarian visited Vietnam for the first time 20 years ago, and has lived here permanently for 15. His wife, Phùng Thanh Hà, conducts yoga classes at the bar during the daytime. A fantastic couple, they’re both oil painters.

Weirdest was the appearance of Giang. Back from Vegas two months ago, he finally decided to email me. Over coffee this morning, Giang admitted I was right about Trump, MAGA, gold prices and the state of the American economy. Inflation in the USA has become absurd and evil Trump is a shameless liar. Regarding Venezuela, it’s not about drugs but oil, of course.