Teaching Resources
- How do the speakers in Vuong’s poems identify as American and Vietnamese? Do
you see tension in the representation of these identities?
- Vuong is an immigrant, forced out of Vietnam at two years old with his mother,
father, and grandmother. Where do you see the complex experience of Vietnamese
diaspora in his poetry? How might his background change how we read his poems?
- How does Vuong reference race in his poetry? Where does he do so? In what
context? Are the references overt or subtle?
- Sexuality is a prominent theme in Vuong’s poems. How does it work as a theme?
How do you understand these representations of desire and love against a backdrop
of violence and grief?
- The poem, “Nothing” was written in Emily Dickinson’s room in Amherst,
Massachusetts. The Notes & Acknowledgment page has additional references and
connections to writers, from Roland Barthes to Lil Peep. Trace back the reference
notes in one of Vuong’s poems and consider how and why he is inspired by these
people and places.
- How is New England represented in Vuong’s poems? What connection do we see
between speaker and place and culture?
- How would you best describe Vuong’s poetic aesthetic? Why do you think he chose
poetry as the vehicle for his storytelling?
- What themes do you see most prominently in sections I, II, and III? Why was this
collection organized in this way?
- This book was published in 2022 but many (if not all) of these poems are concerned
with the past. Where do you see history haunting the contemporary moment in
Vuong’s poems?
Teaching the Art of Poetry by Call Number: READ ONLINEConcise and accessible, this guide to teaching the art of poetry from Shakespeare to contemporary poets enables anyone to learn about how poets approach their art. Teachers can use this book to explore any facet or era of poetry. Any reader can use it as an entryway into the art of poetry.
What Is Poetry? by Call Number: READ ONLINEPoetry, defined as language divided into lines, is found in most known human cultures. This masterful survey of poetry and its constituent components demonstrates the functions performed by metre, rhyme, alliteration and parallelism, arguing that each line of a poem fits as a whole unit into the limited capacity of human working memory. Using examples from around the world, Fabb surveys the wide varieties of poetry and the ways they are performed, including those in songs and signed literatures. Focusing on language, form and memory, he helps us understand why poetry is a particularly valued way of using language. A fresh exploration of poetry, the book will be welcomed by students and researchers of literature, linguistics and psychology, as well as anyone interested in poetry.
Some ways to incorporate Time is a Mother in the classroom:
First Week Activity:
Ocean Vuong’s “Amazon History of a Former Nail Salon Worker” is a poem that describes
his mother’s declining health through her Amazon shopping cart. While this poem is an
expression of Vuong’s intimate grief and loss, there is something ubiquitous about the
Amazon cart as a reflection of our lives.
In this activity, read Vuong’s poem as a class and ask students to reflect on their own
buying history as a way of reflection and introduction. Students review their Amazon
histories, note purchases from the last three months, then use the structure of Vuong’s
poem to create their own lines. Students should be encouraged to find the narrative their
shopping history holds. Rather than including all purchases, they are looking for the
specific items that tell the story they are interested in sharing. Poems can be shared in
class, posted to Blackboard, and perhaps saved for the end of the semester when you
might return to this exercise as a way to reflect on the class.
Annotations:
Focus on one of Vuong’s poems as a class and introduce close reading and annotation
strategies. Students can be encouraged to note implied and multiple meanings of
particular words and phrases, identify rhetorical devices, and find patterns in punctuation,
capitalization, and structure.
Close Analysis:
Vuong’s poem, “Not Even”, references race, sexuality, and national identity within the larger
narrative of grief and the death of his mother. Consider the lines: “Because everyone
knows yellow pain, pressed into American/ letters, turns to gold./ Our sorrow Midas
touched. Napalm with a rainbow afterglow” (46). Take this poem up in class to facilitate a
discussion of intersectionality through the lens of American empire.
Research Essay:
Ocean Vuong’s mother worked at a nail salon for 25 years; she died in 2019 from breast
cancer. Nail salon references can be found throughout Time is a Mother.
Research the history and impact of the nail salon industry in Vietnamese communities in
the U.S. Find credible contemporary news articles and one peer reviewed scholarly source
to understand the policies and history of this billion dollar industry.
Consider Vuong’s poems as a framework for understanding the contemporary impact of
this industry on an individual family.