Ocean Vuong is back with his highly anticipated second poetry collection, Time is A Mother. Following on from his prize-winning debut collection, Night Sky with Exit Wounds, and the bestselling novel, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, Time Is A Mother sees Ocean search for life among the aftershocks of his mother's death, embodying the paradox of sitting within grief while being determined to survive beyond it. 

In concert with the themes of his previous work, Ocean contends with personal loss, the meaning of family and the value of joy in a perennially fractured American spirit. Experimenting with language and form, he illuminates how the themes we live in and question are truly inexhaustible. Vivid, brave, bold and prescient - a testament to tenderness in the face of violence - Time is a Mother is a return and forging forth all at once. 

In the following list, Ocean shares some of the books that speak to the collection and its themes. 

To readers - 

Thank you. As a poet, I was told to never expect readers, so to have ones as robust as those I’ve encountered is a true surprise and delight. My job, first and foremost, at least the way I see it, is to write the best sentences I can—and I’m just happy people can engage with me in that effort. 

Ocean Vuong