In this episode—recorded live at the 2025 Sun Valley Writers’ Conference—we have an intimate conversation, in front of 1500 people, with the novelist and poet Ocean Vuong. When he was two years old, in 1990, Vuong immigrated with his family from Vietnam. They settled in East Hartford, CT, seven relatives sharing a one-bedroom apartment. His mother worked at a nail salon. When Ocean learned to read at 11, he became the first literate member of his family. Then he became the first to attend college, eventually earning an MFA in writing from NYU.

In 2016, he published his debut poetry collection, “Night Sky with Exit Wounds,” which drew immediate attention and acclaim. In 2019, his first autobiographical novel, “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous,” written in the form of letters from a Vietnamese American son to his mother, became a bestseller and led to his being awarded a MacArthur Genius grant. By every outward sign, he had seemingly achieved the American Dream as a writer. Then his mother, who’d never been able to read his books, died of cancer. Another celebrated poetry collection, “Time is a Mother,” followed. And now we have Ocean’s magnificent second novel, “The Emperor of Gladness.”

—

Welcome to Beyond the Page: The Best of the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference. Over the past 30 years, SVWC has become the gold standard of American literary festivals, bringing together contemporary writing’s brightest stars for their view of the world through a literary lens. Every month, Beyond the Page curates and distills the best talks from SVWC, giving you a front row seat on the kind of knowledge, inspiration, laughter, and meaning that we are known for.

To listen to other talks from the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference, subscribe now on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or listen directly on our website.