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Reposted by Connla Stokes

Connla Stokes @connla-stokes.bsky.social · 1d

If I ever update my essay on the Saigon Zoo for a collection, I'll be sure to squeeze that quote in somewhere.

In the essay (link below), I incorporate excerpts from the writings – and impressions – of several foreign visitors to the zoo over the years.

www.shanghailiterary.com/tslr-online-...

One Day at the Saigon Zoo — The Shanghai Literary Review 上海文藝評論

Irish writer Connla Stokes revisits Saigon Zoo, uncovering its colonial past, wartime secrets, and enduring place in Vietnam’s urban heart.

www.shanghailiterary.com

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Reposted by Connla Stokes

Connla Stokes @connla-stokes.bsky.social · 1d

"Whenever Saigon got depressing I went to the zoo..."

British journalist Richard West writing of the zoo as a handy sanctuary from the depressing realities of Saigon in the mid 60s — the previous passage, not seen here, had detailed the dizzying huge number of street kids operating in the city.

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Connla Stokes @connla-stokes.bsky.social · 1d

If I ever update my essay on the Saigon Zoo for a collection, I'll be sure to squeeze that quote in somewhere.

In the essay (link below), I incorporate excerpts from the writings – and impressions – of several foreign visitors to the zoo over the years.

www.shanghailiterary.com/tslr-online-...

One Day at the Saigon Zoo — The Shanghai Literary Review 上海文藝評論

Irish writer Connla Stokes revisits Saigon Zoo, uncovering its colonial past, wartime secrets, and enduring place in Vietnam’s urban heart.

www.shanghailiterary.com

1 1

Connla Stokes @connla-stokes.bsky.social · 1d

"Whenever Saigon got depressing I went to the zoo..."

British journalist Richard West writing of the zoo as a handy sanctuary from the depressing realities of Saigon in the mid 60s — the previous passage, not seen here, had detailed the dizzying huge number of street kids operating in the city.

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Reposted by Connla Stokes

Connla Stokes @connla-stokes.bsky.social · 1d

For the record, Scarfe hated the Daily Mail and only lasted a year — there's a further explanation in the first image attached. The second image is an illustration by Scarfe, captioned: "Elections in Saigon."

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Connla Stokes @connla-stokes.bsky.social · 1d

For the record, Scarfe hated the Daily Mail and only lasted a year — there's a further explanation in the first image attached. The second image is an illustration by Scarfe, captioned: "Elections in Saigon."

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Connla Stokes @connla-stokes.bsky.social · 1d

“Soldiers in Da Lat” by Gerald Scarfe, for the Daily Mail (1964).

Scarfe travelled to #Vietnam alongside the journalist Richard West.

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Connla Stokes @connla-stokes.bsky.social · 1d

Cover of Private Eye in 1963. The image is by Gerald Scarfe.

Reposted by Connla Stokes

Neglected Books @neglectedbooks.com · 1d

Available now, the latest in the Recovered Books series from @bhousepress.bsky.social. Available in the US from @asterismbooks.bsky.social.

Andrew Crowther @andrewcrowther.bsky.social · 4d

A book I have very much enjoyed this week: "And So Do I" by Bradford writer Malachi Whitaker, a sort of chronicle of 2 years in the late 1930s, first published in 1939 & newly republished. Irreverent, humorous, often startlingly honest, with an undercurrent of existential bewilderment and searching.

The cover of the new Recovered Books edition of "And So Did I" by Malachi Whitaker. A dark green cover, through which two eyes stare out at us.

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Connla Stokes @connla-stokes.bsky.social · 2d

Denis Cameron the photojournalist (left) with Gloria Emerson (at the time, a correspondent with the New York Times) and Nguyen Ngoc Luong, her interpreter.

Saigon, April 19, 1971.

Connla Stokes @connla-stokes.bsky.social · 2d

And here's an image of Greene in his home in Antibes, 1978 when being interviewed by Gloria Emerson for Rolling Stone. She brought him some gin (although she had wondered if he'd prefer a gift of bacon).

Photo credit: Harold Chapman

Connla Stokes @connla-stokes.bsky.social · 2d

The (Splendid) Ghost of Graham Greene:

“It was odd how often some Americans in Saigon spoke his name, at least fifteen years after he had left Indochina for good, as if the city belonged to him and we had only rented it."

Gloria Emerson on Greene. Extended quote here:
substack.com/@connla/note...

Connla Stokes (@connla)

The (Splendid) Ghost of Graham Greene: “It was odd how often some Americans in Saigon spoke his name, at least fifteen years after he had left Indochina for good, as if the city belonged to him and w...

substack.com

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Connla Stokes @connla-stokes.bsky.social · 3d

The song the band plays in the clip is ‘Tiger’ — originally recorded in 1959 by Fabian:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQMF...

1959 HITS ARCHIVE: Tiger - Fabian

YouTube video by The45Prof

www.youtube.com

Connla Stokes @connla-stokes.bsky.social · 3d

Enjoyable footage of Saigon in 1965 from this video (ITN archives). The band features twice (once briefly at the beginning and again at about the 4.35 mark), and they're playing a cracking tune that I can't identify... :

youtu.be/qFF-aPuNJy4?...

Vietnam War '65 | Rare Footage of Saigon During Viet Cong Insurgency | ITN Reports (1965)

YouTube video by ITN Archive

youtu.be

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Connla Stokes @connla-stokes.bsky.social · 3d

An image of the Five O'Clock Follies in Saigon.

I love the expression of the journalist's face (the guy with glasses looking into the lens). It says: "How stupid do they think we are?" or " What the fuck is this farce..."

[Sorry, not sure of the photo credit.]

Connla Stokes @connla-stokes.bsky.social · 4d

A beautiful shot of a Black American machine gunner, from the 9th Division, with a Vietnamese soldier serving in the ARVN.

Taken by the late, great Tim Page somewhere near Tân An (Long An, Mekong Delta) in 1968.
© Tim Page/CORBIS

Reposted by Connla Stokes

Jeff Wasserstrom @jwassers.bsky.social · 6d

👇 lareviewofbooks.org/article/an-i... review in @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social

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Connla Stokes @connla-stokes.bsky.social · 6d

Thanks Jeff. I’ll have to visit it when I get to London next time.

Reposted by Connla Stokes

Connla Stokes @connla-stokes.bsky.social · 6d

'Falling for Saigon' keeping company with some splendid looking books (novels and histories) inspired by Vietnam at @stanfordstravel.bsky.social in Covent Garden of Old London Town.

Looks like a FANTASTIC bookshop—and if you're in the market for a large globe or map, you'd be in the right place.

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Connla Stokes @connla-stokes.bsky.social · 6d

'Falling for Saigon' keeping company with some splendid looking books (novels and histories) inspired by Vietnam at @stanfordstravel.bsky.social in Covent Garden of Old London Town.

Looks like a FANTASTIC bookshop—and if you're in the market for a large globe or map, you'd be in the right place.

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Connla Stokes @connla-stokes.bsky.social · 6d

The wonderful cover of an album of interviews (all recorded by Wallace Terry) with Black American soldiers sent to Vietnam.

I believe the image was taken by Tim Page.

#TimPage #Vietnam #Blackpower

Reposted by Connla Stokes

Longtail News @longtail.news · 12d

Feed: "A story from Connla"
By: Connla Stokes on Thursday, September 25, 2025

A brief return to Tự Do Street in the year of '69

Apologies for the radio silence of late! Here’s a short piece that was inspired by Yusef Komunyakaa's poem "Tu Do Street”.

connla.substack.com

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Connla Stokes @connla-stokes.bsky.social · 8d

Photo credit: Thomas W. Johnson

Also taken in 1965. This is the old market street Ton That Dam. Some of the old signage is still there and the market remains (rumours that it will be closed persist).

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Connla Stokes @connla-stokes.bsky.social · 8d

A smoggy morning in Saigon, 1965 — photo credit: Thomas W. Johnson

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Connla Stokes @connla-stokes.bsky.social · 9d

I can’t find a credit for this pic which was probably taken in late 60s. For R&R in Saigon, Black American soldiers had their own bars. And even their own restaurants that cooked Soul Food.