Ocean Vuong

Ocean Vuong is an American author, poet, and essayist who has written a number of acclaimed pieces both in print and in spoken word form. He was born in 1989 to Vietnamese parents who had escaped the Vietnam War and settled in the United States. He grew up in Hartford, Connecticut, and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in English.

Vuong’s earliest work focused heavily on Vietnamese-American experience and identity, with his first book of poetry, Night Sky With Exit Wounds, being published in 2016. The collection explores themes of family, inheritance, and trauma, buoyed by the ongoing debates around the Vietnam War.

Vuong’s work has gone on to receive a number of distinguished awards, including the Whiting Award for excellence in poetry, the Pushcart Prize for best short fiction, the T.S. Eliot Prize for poetry, and the Thom Gunn Award for gay poetry.

Vuong’s second book of poetry, 2018’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, earned him the distinction of being the first Asian-American writer to be a finalist for the National Book Award. The book is written in the first-person, turning the poems into a letter to his mother, who is unable to read English.

In 2020, Vuong published his debut novel, called "On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous". The novel centers on a young Vietnamese-American named Little Dog, who writes a letter to his mother about his memories, hopes, and struggles. It is structured around three acts, each themed around the generations in Little Dog's family. The novel has already been described as a “lyrical, moving debut”, and was longlisted for the Booker Prize.

Vuong’s work has pushed beyond existing boundaries in literature and spoken word. In 2021, he released his first collection of stories and essays, titled "Erosion of Silence". The collection explores themes of family, ritual, and mourning, and records the reverberations of trauma through generations. These stories, like those in his past works, display his extraordinary command of language, and read like lives fully lived.

Vuong is a writer of intense power and authenticity. His work is a complex exploration of identity, belonging, risk, and loss, presented in beautifully crafted stories and lyricism. His writing captures an awareness of the world and an understanding of the stories each of us carries. He is an exciting and important voice in contemporary literature and his work is certain to influence generations of readers in the years to come.