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In this deeply intimate second poetry collection, Ocean Vuong searches for life among the aftershocks of his mother's death, embodying the paradox of sitting within grief while being determined to survive beyond it. Shifting through memory, and in concert with the themes of his novel On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, Vuong contends with personal loss, the meaning of family, and the cost of being the product of an American war in America. At once vivid, brave, and propulsive, Vuong's poems circle fragmented lives to find both restoration as well as the epicenter of the break.

The author of the critically acclaimed poetry collection Night Sky With Exit Wounds, winner of the 2016 Whiting Award, the 2017 T.S. Eliot Prize, and a 2019 MacArthur fellow, Vuong writes directly to our humanity without losing sight of the current moment. These poems represent a more innovative and daring experimentation with language and form, illuminating how the themes we perennially live in and question are truly inexhaustible. Bold and prescient, and a testament to tenderness in the face of violence, Time Is a Mother is a return and a forging forth all at once.

I borrowed this collection from the library after encountering a poem from the collection, “Amazon History of a Former Nail Salon Worker.” After reading the collection, I still think that poem is the best in the collection. It’s a found/catalog poem that asks the reader to sift through purchases to assemble an entire life. It tells a fascinating story, and I think I’d like to share it with my students.

There were some other gems in the collection, including “Dear Rose,” “The Punctum,” “Toy Boat,” “Reasons for Staying,” and “Küntslerroman.” The imagery is strong, and I appreciated Vuong’s diction and structure. Overall, I would not say this collection is one of my favorites, but it was well worth a read.