Time is a Mother is the second poetry book, after Night Sky with Exit Wounds , by Ocean Vuong– a young Vietnamese poet and writer. Born in Saigon, he grew up in the US since early childhood, but Vietnam is nevertheless ever present in his writing.
In this poetry book he includes most of the themes which he’s previously focused on – immigrant stories, his family history, the Vietnam War, adolescence, sexual identity, love – on top of which he tries to cope with the loss of his mother, who appears in almost all the poems.
Vuong’s writing style is distinct; if you read any other books of his, you will be familiar with it: he doesn’t shy away from strong, sometimes even vulgar language, but on the other hand, he has the ability to approach the most difficult subjects in a gentle manner. The poems, full of metaphors and references to contemporary culture, provide a very up-to-date interesting commentary of the world which we live in.