Please read the selections from Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous and listen to the VS podcast with Natalie Diaz (it’s about an hour long).

Content Warning: On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous contains scenes describing a mother physically and emotionally abusing her child (the narrator).

1. Write your response

• Write your response to the texts and podcast using the questions below as guides.
• You do not need to answer all the questions, and you are welcome to respond using your own questions and observations.

2. Respond to 2 other student posts

• Once you have posted your response, read over the responses of those in your group and respond to two other student posts.
• Your response should be at least 75 words–think the length of a short paragraph. (This is to avoid responses that just say “I agree with X when they said X. Good job.”)
• Engage meaningfully with their post:
  • Did you have a similar or different understanding? Say more about your shared or divergent perspective.
  • Did they deepen your understanding of something in the text?
  • Point out something you noticed about their post and say why it was interesting to you or what further questions it brings up.

You can refer to the audio transcript on the podcast webpage (it’s the link beneath the audio player) to help you follow along or refer back to the conversation.

Ocean Vuong, selections from On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous

• This work is an epistolary novel, meaning it is written in the form of a letter or letters to someone. It has been called “loosely” epistolary because it is not formatted strictly like letters are, with a “Dear—” and “Love/Sincerely/From—” for each section.
  • Who is this novel addressed to?
  • What do you think is significant about addressing this long body of work to this specific person? Think about this in terms of language access in addition to anything else you may notice.
• What are your first impressions of this novel?
  • What themes and topics emerge?
  • What do you see Vuong writing about on an individual level?
  • What is he writing about on a structural or societal level?
  • How are these levels connecting?
• What do you notice about the focus on language and the meanings of words in this first chapter? Give a specific example from the text where Vuong elaborates on a definition or brings up a situation about language.
  • Why does language seem to be a focus here?
  • How does it relate to the characters and their relationships in this novel?
• Vuong uses an extended metaphor of butterfly migration in the first chapter.
  • What effect does this technique have on you as a reader?
  • Why do you think he uses this metaphor–what associations does it bring up?
  • What comparison is being made?

• How does the act of naming/being named show up in this section? How does Vuong use it to build characters?
• What other techniques does Vuong use to describe the different characters?
  • For example, find a line or two that helps to develop Lan’s character and quote it in your response. What do you notice?
• How would you describe his writing style in these two chapters?
  • First, think about sentence variation/length and description/imagery.
    • • For example, does his writing consist of short, direct sentences? Long descriptive ones? A mix? Is there much figurative language, or is it mostly literal?
  • As a part of style, how would you describe the narrative voice? Remember that voice can be described through tone, diction and point of view.
    • For starters, this is a novel written in the first person—“I”—and the narrator has a limited point of view—he only has access to his perceptions, thoughts, and experiences and doesn’t know what other characters are thinking.
  • Are there sections where you think the style changes?
    • • For example, look at the bullying section on pages 24-25. How is this scene written differently than the scene on pages 22-23? What effect does the change have on your experience as a reader?
• How does Vuong write about language in these chapters? Pick a section or line to quote from as an example.
  • In addition, how does Vuong connect the language and lexicons (verbal & physical) of the characters to imperialism and cultural assimilation?

VS Podcast: “Natalie Diaz vs. the Lexicon”

• The VS podcast, “Natalie Diaz vs. the Lexicon,” touches on themes of grief and joy/love/pleasure.
  • How is Diaz holding a place for grief to coexist with joy, love and pleasure? Name some specific moments.
• In the podcast, Franny Choi, Danez Smith, and Natalie Diaz talk about lexicons at different points in the episode, especially about how we create our own lexicons-– how we create our own meanings, relationships, and usages of words and phrases.
  • What were some of the examples of lexicons in the podcast?
  • What are examples of new additions to the “American lexicon” from your own life, from family or friends or other communities you’ve been a part of?

Watch the video above which uses Diaz’s poem to accompany dialogues about colonization, erasure, and police violence against Native people.

• Diaz’s poem “American Arithmetic” begins around 45:00 in the podcast.
  • You can easily access the text of her poem on this page (Links to an external site.).
• Look over “American Arithmetic.” What techniques does Diaz use to talk about the ongoing history of violence against Native Americans? Consider repetition, imagery, diction, etc.
• How does she delve into the possible meanings of words in the American lexicon—for example, the word “race”?
• How does “American Arithmetic” add to the power of the video above? In what ways is this a collaboration between different artists? In what ways does the video give you a different experience than listening to the poem on its own?