Anthony Veasna So died unexpectedly last winter, before his debut short-story collection, Afterparties, was released. Everyone remembers him differently. e_alexjung reports
Anthony Veasna So’s self-portrait collage using Southeast Asian stamps. October, 2020. Art: Courtesy of the Estate of Anthony Veasna So This article was featured in One Great Story, New York’s reading recommendation newsletter. Sign up here to get it nightly.The Next Literary Superstar Here’s something everyone can agree on.
Anthony’s death left the bereaved acutely aware of the parts of the self that will always be closed off, private, unknowable. Dark corners that can never be fully legible. How do you know a soul? “As time goes on, I’m learning new stuff about him,” says Danny Thanh Nguyen, a fellow Southeast Asian Bay Area writer who became friends with Anthony after they both taught poetry classes in 2019. “He was good at code switching and hiding certain things from certain people.
“But for me, I saw what Stanford instilled in him. He understood the generational differences,” she continues, referencing the title of one of his short stories, written from her perspective. “I always have a problem with my daughter. Always fight with her. Ay-yi-yi. But Anthony was different. He understood me. He was very wise. He’s my little professor.”“Every story we told since he was 5,” says his mom. “I’m surprised that he remember.
“I feel like a bomb just dropped on top of me,” says Ravy. “My beautiful child, I thought he was healthy. He’s very brave because his dad still did not accept.” The Artist As He Saw Himself Self-portrait of Anthony Veasna So . Photo: Courtesy of the Estate of Anthony Veasna So Anthony’s artist’s statement from his time at Stanford:
For college graduation, Anthony’s friend Soo Ji Lee gave him a copy of Chang-rae Lee’s Native Speaker. It contained a line that tickled them — the soon-to-be ex-wife of the protagonist calls him a “B+ student of life.” Great on a Raya profile but lacking a certain zest. When Anthony began naming characters for his short story “Human Development” — the only one of the book that pointedly skewers San Francisco tech culture — he gave two characters A and B names.
From that point on, Anthony and Alex became the kind of couple that shared everything. “They did enter into this world where you knew they were a package deal,” says Quintana. They wore the same clothing, shoes, underwear even. Alex thought they were like Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas or Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith.
“I tell people it felt like I woke up when he passed,” Alex continues. “I was in a spinoff in my old life in a way, rather than the main character now, which I didn’t really want.” Despite what he saw as his partner’s flaws, he also saw him as a mentor, and I get the distinct sensation he is trying to become his own version of Anthony.
Alex can’t, or won’t, explain exactly what happened the night of Anthony’s death; he’s more evasive in conversation than he was with the police. “I don’t remember a lot of it … I can’t really get there,” he says. “ ‘He made cocktails, and he spiked it, I think. I think he was on so much Adderall and caffeine.
In March, the family gathered for a 100-day ceremony, traditionally held after the funeral to let the soul go. They put together a slideshow of photos. The event was light-filled, communal, personal. Shrestha and Quintana were there. Alex did not attend. “That felt like the first time somebody created a space for us to just focus on Anthony,” says Quintana, “because everything else had been distracting us from our friend.
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