The Emperor of Gladness

Ocean Vuong

Ocean Vuong is one of the most powerful and distinctive literary voices of his generation, a Vietnamese American poet, novelist and essayist whose work has captivated readers across the world.

Born in Saigon in 1988 and raised in Hartford, Connecticut after his family immigrated to the United States, Vuong went on to study English and Creative Writing at Brooklyn College and later earned an MFA in poetry from New York University. 

His debut poetry collection, Night Sky with Exit Wounds, published in 2016, marked a major breakthrough. The book was widely praised for its exploration of migration, family, queerness and the lingering legacy of the Vietnam War. It won the Whiting Award, the T.S. Eliot Prize and the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, placing him firmly among the most exciting poets writing in English.

Following the loss of his mother, Vuong released Time Is a Mother in 2022, a poetry collection that confronts grief and resilience with stark beauty. In 2025, he returned to fiction with his second novel, The Emperor of Gladness. The book quickly drew acclaim and was selected as an Oprah’s Book Club pick. This recognition marks Vuong’s most recent major accolade, cementing his place not just as an award-winning poet and novelist but also as a writer whose work reaches vast audiences worldwide.

Over his career, he has been honoured with the T.S. Eliot Prize, the Whiting Award, the Forward Prize, and a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship in 2019, alongside his more recent recognition from Oprah’s Book Club.

Today, Ocean Vuong’s books have been translated into multiple languages and are studied in classrooms and universities across the globe. His major works include Night Sky with Exit Wounds, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, Time Is a Mother, and The Emperor of Gladness.