A review by alexandriapiette
Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

4.5

After reading On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous in 2022, I knew the desire to dig into Vuong’s other publications was a must. Time is a Mother is poetry rich in being. While I agree with additional reviews that there are a handful of poems throughout this collection that feel odd, in a sense, there were too many moments of sheer poetic meaningfulness that I couldn’t dare to rate it lower. Notable highlights for me include, but are not limited to, ‘The Bull’, ‘American Legend’, ‘The Last Dinosaur’, ‘Klünstlerroman’, and ‘Ars Poetica as the Maker’. The famed piece, ‘Amazon History of a Former Nail Salon Worker’, is a concept I, truthfully, wish I had thought of myself in my person creative writing endeavors, as it’s a stunning method of conveying a story through few words.

All in all, it pains me to see the lower reviews for this work; I think it’s absolutely worth reading if you’re an established follower of Vuong’s art! At the same time, I don’t think I would introduce this to anyone for their first reading experience with the author.