麻豆约拍

The young Vietnamese writer Ocean Vuong has been called 鈥渙ne of our most gifted poets鈥�. He came to public attention when his poetry collection 鈥淣ight Sky With Exit Wounds鈥� was showered with awards. His first novel 鈥淥n Earth We鈥檙e Briefly Gorgeous鈥� followed last year and has also been critically acclaimed.

Ocean鈥檚 work often mirrors his own experience as an immigrant. He was born in Saigon, Vietnam but at a young age he and members of his family left Vietnam, as refugees for the United States. After attempting a degree in business, Ocean found his true vocation as a writer and now divides his time between creating new work and teaching university students.

Oonagh Cousins talks to Ocean about the way he creates his work, how ideas and images come to him and the importance of being uncomfortable when he鈥檚 writing.

Presenter: Oonagh Cousins
Producer: Emma Kingsley for 麻豆约拍 World Service

Image of Ocean Vuong by Peter Bienkowski