Ocean Vuong, renowned poet and author, will share about his life experiences and creative works during a free event at Liberty Hall in downtown Lawrence.
The Commons at the University of Kansas is preparing to host Vuong as its fall 2024 Kenneth A. Spencer lecturer, according to a KU news release.
In Vuong’s critically acclaimed poetry collections, “Night Sky with Exit Wounds” and “Time is a Mother,” he reflects on his childhood, immigration, identity, social issues, love and loss.
Vuong, 35, was born in Vietnam and grew up in Hartford, Connecticut within a working class family of nail salon and factory workers, according to the release. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 19th century American literature from Brooklyn College and afterward received his master’s degree in poetry from New York University.
Today, Vuong resides in Massachusetts. His first novel, “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous,” made the New York Times bestseller list in 2019. Also in 2019, he earned a MacArthur “Genius” grant. Additional awards he’s collected include the T. S. Eliot Prize, the Thom Gunn Award, the Whiting Award, and the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, and his work has been highlighted in several publications.
Journalist Chloé Cooper Jones, a KU alum from Tonganoxie, will facilitate the conversation with Vuong.
Jones is also a professor and the author of memoir “Easy Beauty,” which was named a best book of 2022 by The New York Times and several other publications, the release says. She’s been a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize twice and earned a Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant. She now resides in New York and is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, a Howard Foundation Fellow, and an associate professor of writing at Columbia University.
The event is scheduled for 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26 at Liberty Hall, 644 Massachusetts St. Tickets are free and can be reserved via universe.com.
Doors will open at 6 p.m. Reserving a ticket will secure a seat up until 6:45 p.m., which is when seats will be opened up to public entry.
The Raven Book Store will be present to sell copies of books by both Vuong and Jones.
Anyone needing assistance or accommodations can contact The Commons staff via email at thecommons@ku.edu.
For the annual Kenneth A. Spencer Lecture, The Commons brings in thinkers of diverse disciplines to share their experiences and knowledge with KU and surrounding communities. Learn more on The Commons’ website, via thecommons.ku.edu.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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