Q·Q with Tom Power

Ocean Vuong shares poetry from his collection Time Is a Mother

Poet Ocean Vuong on his New York Times bestselling poetry collection Time Is a Mother, expressing grief through art, and why he calls death “the truest thing.”

The poet talks about his New York Times bestselling poetry collection and why death is 'the truest thing'

Time Is a Mother is a poetry collection by Ocean Vuong.
Time Is a Mother is a poetry collection by Ocean Vuong. (Mattias Lundblad, Penguin Press)

Ocean Vuong's second poetry collection, Time Is a Mother, was an instant New York Times bestseller. Now, it's been shortlisted for the 2023 Griffin Poetry Prize.

The poet joins host Tom Power to talk about how the death of his mother inspired this new collection, and his experience with expressing grief through art.

The full interview with Ocean Vuong is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.


Interview with Ocean Vuong produced by Jennifer Warren.

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