Ocean Vuong

Ocean Vuong, an acclaimed poet and novelist, shares his remarkable journey as a Vietnamese immigrant turned literary powerhouse. He reflects on life lessons learned from fast food jobs and the stark contrasts between the American dream and harsh realities. Vuong discusses the complexities of identity influenced by his mother’s struggles with literacy and generational trauma. He also touches on the balance between cynicism and sincerity in art, revealing how deep personal connections shape his writing and perspectives on empathy.

Krista interviewed the wise and wonderful writer Ocean Vuong on March 8, 2020 in a joyful, crowded room full of podcasters in Brooklyn. A state of emergency had just been declared in New York around a new virus. But no one guessed that within a handful of days such an event would become unimaginable. Most stunning is how presciently, exquisitely Ocean speaks to the world we have come to inhabit— its heartbreak and its poetry, its possibilities for loss and for finding new life. “I want to love more than death can harm. And I want to tell you this often: That despite being so human and so terrified, here, standing on this unfinished staircase to nowhere and everywhere, surrounded by the cold and starless night — we can live. And we will.”Ocean Vuong is a professor in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at New York University. His new collection of poetry is Time Is a Mother. He is also the author of a novel, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, and the poetry collection Night Sky with Exit Wounds, which won the T.S. Eliot Prize and the Whiting Award. He was a 2019 MacArthur Fellow. Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org.This show originally aired on April 30, 2020.___________Sign up for The Pause to receive our seasonal Saturday morning newsletter and advance invitations and news on all things On Being.And: if you can, please take a minute to rate On Being in this podcast app — you'll be bending the arc of algorithms towards this adventure of conversation and living.

Ocean Vuong, acclaimed author and MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, engages in a heartfelt conversation with Glennon and her son, Chase. They explore the profound impact of Ocean's work on Chase and the unique challenges Asian boys face in America. Ocean shares his experiences with grief and empathy drawn from his mother's death, and discusses his views on masculinity and the importance of complicating traditional narratives. Their dialogue beautifully weaves together themes of identity, loss, and the artistry of storytelling.

We are in the final weeks as On Being evolves to its next chapter — in a world that is evolving, each of us changed in myriad ways we’ve only begun to process and fathom. So it felt right to listen again to one of our most beloved shows of this post-2020 world. In fact, Krista interviewed the wise and wonderful Ocean Vuong right on the cusp of that turning, in March 2020, in a joyful and crowded room full of podcasters in Brooklyn. Yet what’s most stunning is how presciently and exquisitely Ocean spoke, and continues to speak, to the world we have since come to inhabit — its heartbreak and its poetry, its possibilities for loss and for finding new life.Ocean Vuong is a professor in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at New York University. His new collection of poetry is Time Is a Mother. He is also the author of a novel, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, and the poetry collection Night Sky with Exit Wounds, which won the T.S. Eliot Prize and the Whiting Award. He was a 2019 MacArthur Fellow.This interview is edited and produced with music and other features in the On Being episode "Ocean Vuong — A Life Worthy of Our Breath." Find the transcript for that show at onbeing.org.This show originally aired on April 30, 2020.___________Sign up for The Pause to receive our seasonal Saturday morning newsletter and advance invitations and news on all things On Being.And: if you can, please take a minute to rate On Being in this podcast app — you'll be bending the arc of algorithms towards this adventure of conversation and living.

Ocean Vuong’s poem “Seventh Circle of Earth” is an homage to the love and intimacy shared by Michael Humphrey and Clayton Capshaw, a gay couple who were murdered in their home in Dallas, Texas. In the midst of recognizing the violence and threat LGBTQI communities face, the poem holds space for tenderness — and honors their love.A question to reflect on after you listen: What examples have you seen of love and power enacted, even in the face of threat?About the poet:Ocean Vuong is an assistant professor in the MFA program for poets and writers at the University of Massachusetts — Amherst. His New York Times bestselling novel is On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, and his poetry collection, Night Sky with Exit Wounds, was awarded the T.S. Eliot Prize and Whiting Award. In 2019, Vuong was awarded a MacArthur "Genius" Grant.“Seventh Circle of Earth” comes from Ocean Vuong’s book Night Sky with Exit Wounds. Thank you to Copper Canyon Press, who published the book, and to Ocean for letting us use his poem. Read it on our website at onbeing.org.Find the transcript for this episode at onbeing.org.The original music in this episode was composed by Gautam Srikishan.