In 'Time is a Mother,' poet Ocean Vuong reflects on life, and time, without his mom
In his new collection, poet Ocean Vuong transforms Time, normally associated with death and erasure, into a mother with endlessly regenerative power.
Time is a Mother, Ocean Vuong's latest poetry collection, can be read holistically as a paradox, zen koan, or the poetic equivalent of a Möbius strip.
Time, normally associated with death and erasure, embodied in the image of the Greek god Kronos devouring his young, is transformed by the poet into a mother with endlessly regenerative power.
Vuong's mother, Lê Kim Hồng — her name means rose or pink in Vietnamese — passed away at age 51 from breast cancer in November 2019, a few months before with its 28 poems recalling the 28 lunar mansions in Asian astronomy,illustrates the poet's efforts to reconcile inexorable fate with aesthetic transformation, eternal absence with continuous presence:
