Poetry

Night Sky with Exit Wounds

Night Sky with Exit Wounds

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-22 10:53:45
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Ocean Vuong
  • ISBN：1911214519
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Summary

An extraordinary debut from a young Vietnamese American， Night Sky with Exit Wounds is a book of poetry unlike any other。 Steeped in war and cultural upheaval and wielding a fresh new language， Vuong writes about the most profound subjects – love and loss， conflict， grief， memory and desire – and attends to them all with lines that feel newly-minted， graceful in their cadences， passionate and hungry in their tender， close attention: ‘…the chief of police/facedown in a pool of Coca-Cola。/A palm-sized photo of his father soaking/beside his left ear。’ This is an unusual， important book: both gentle and visceral， vulnerable and assured， and its blend of humanity and power make it one of the best first collections of poetry to come out of America in years。

‘These are poems of exquisite beauty， unashamed of romance， and undaunted by looking directly into the horrors of war， the silences of history。 One of the most important debut collections for a generation。’ Andrew McMillan

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Reviews

lizzy ，

beautifully enchanting

Rosa Cleiren ，

Eurydice， untitled （blue green and brown）: oil on canvas: mark rothko 1952， en Of Thee I Sing vond ik de mooiste

Ashley Marie ，

Tell me it was for the hunger & nothing less。 For hunger is to give the body what it knows it cannot keep。Above all else， this collection felt deeply， deeply personal， almost to the point where I wasn't sure I should be reading it。 Tell me it was for the hunger & nothing less。 For hunger is to give the body what it knows it cannot keep。Above all else， this collection felt deeply， deeply personal， almost to the point where I wasn't sure I should be reading it。 。。。more

Amy ，

RTC

Lily ，

Lulling and emotionally dense， these lyrics open up depths， there's something oozing and soothing about these wounds， naturally evocative， full of trauma， questions of belonging， images of war， they pattern into rich layers of an intersecting immigrant and gay experience。 Familial themes and the tensions of different kinds of love pair with profound imaging。 Lulling and emotionally dense， these lyrics open up depths， there's something oozing and soothing about these wounds， naturally evocative， full of trauma， questions of belonging， images of war， they pattern into rich layers of an intersecting immigrant and gay experience。 Familial themes and the tensions of different kinds of love pair with profound imaging。 。。。more

Amber Scarborough ，

after not reading poetry for a while， this was an excellent one to help me dive back in。 absolutely beautiful and haunting。 I can't wait to read his other works。 after not reading poetry for a while， this was an excellent one to help me dive back in。 absolutely beautiful and haunting。 I can't wait to read his other works。 。。。more

Jessica Dai ，

the language ！！ no words

tia ，

。。。。 I'm speechless。 Beautiful but yet heartbreaking。。。 。。。。 I'm speechless。 Beautiful but yet heartbreaking。。。 。。。more

Lorenzo Sivilotti ，

Vuong is gifted with an exceptional poetic voice which dances and sparkles throughout this collection。

Mira | I Read Like Phoebe Runs ，

--- I am running toward a rusted horizon， runningout of a country to run out of。 I am chasing my fatherthe way the dead chase after days - & although I am stilltoo far to hear it， I can tell， by the way his head tilts，to one side， as if broken， that he is singingmy favorite song to his empty hands。Finally read Ocean Vuong's Night Sky With Exit Wounds， and it left me shaking & content。 --- I am running toward a rusted horizon， runningout of a country to run out of。 I am chasing my fatherthe way the dead chase after days - & although I am stilltoo far to hear it， I can tell， by the way his head tilts，to one side， as if broken， that he is singingmy favorite song to his empty hands。Finally read Ocean Vuong's Night Sky With Exit Wounds， and it left me shaking & content。 。。。more

leonardo ，

"Dear god， if you are a season， let it be the one I passed through / to get here。"there's so much to cover here。 tons of intimacy， trauma， paternal struggles， war， inward-looking and boys。 vuong – a beyond talented asian-american queer writer – felt often so cautious with words that draw in without a try， each poem being as good as the next。 the amount of lines that easily leave the pages and install themselves into the heart are a stab， too– bits of complexity here and there， though behind it， "Dear god， if you are a season， let it be the one I passed through / to get here。"there's so much to cover here。 tons of intimacy， trauma， paternal struggles， war， inward-looking and boys。 vuong – a beyond talented asian-american queer writer – felt often so cautious with words that draw in without a try， each poem being as good as the next。 the amount of lines that easily leave the pages and install themselves into the heart are a stab， too– bits of complexity here and there， though behind it， decades of wounds。 it was beautiful， raw and worth reading。 i， for one， will not forget "Immigrant Haibun。" hope it's not too late。 。。。more

Jonat ，

oh my god one of my favorite aspect about this is how much variationsof the word « Ocean » （the author’s name） is used there to portray deceit， passionate romance or more generally the different states the 2 lovers went through。 For example，« The road which leads me to you is safe even when it runs into ocean » : meaning this girl is ready to be with this guy even if it means facing the hardest obstacles through 🥺 Ocean （in these poems） has récurrent PTSD from lack of parenthood and from his cou oh my god one of my favorite aspect about this is how much variationsof the word « Ocean » （the author’s name） is used there to portray deceit， passionate romance or more generally the different states the 2 lovers went through。 For example，« The road which leads me to you is safe even when it runs into ocean » : meaning this girl is ready to be with this guy even if it means facing the hardest obstacles through 🥺 Ocean （in these poems） has récurrent PTSD from lack of parenthood and from his country lost to warHe sees hallucination of his mom， he feels lonely， he writes about them on books and sometimes his mom appears on his dream to tell him to re-assure him sometimes « & remember， loneliness is still time spent with the world »。。 but it always falls back into this traumatic stateHes also suicidal :（ （ « my mother said I could be anything I wanted。。。 but I chose to live » :（If my feathers are burning I never asked for flight :（And Omg one of my favorite « If only the rain were gasoline， your tongue a lit match and you can change without disappearing »。。。。 when I tell u in context this gets even more insane cos the girl saying it is a « lit match » （a lit match is a girl who gets angry bc of a man’s rejection。。 and that is exactly what was happening）。。 so brillant wordplay while still portraying the feeling of a broken love。 There’s quite a lot of beautiful nostalgia quotes there （from him remembering his father）What Ive also love most about these collections of poems is how they’ve used key words like « ink » to portray different emotions at 2 different times。 For example At the v beginning of the book we have « The city so white it is ready for ink » : basically murders/atrocities are gonna happen in this quiet place And then towards the end， he says « I have enough ink to give you the sea » talking about writing beautiful stories about his mom， notice how « sea » is a variation of « ocean » again，Really really loved this book。 -Night Sky with Exit Wounds: 8。5/10 。。。more

paula ，

As if my finger， / tracing your collarbone / behind closed doors， / was enough / to erase myself。 To forget / we built this house knowing / it won’t last。

Bhoomika ，

“There’s enough light to drown in， but never enough to enter the bones。。。” Some words just stay， just enough to sink in and drown until the words enter the bones。。。。

Jak Merriman ，

I dreamed I walked barefoot all the way to your house in the / snow。 Everything was the blue of smudged ink / and you were still alive。 There was even a light the shade of / sunrise inside your window。 / ‘God must be a season，’ grandma said， looking out at the blizzard / drowning her garden。 / My footsteps on the sidewalk were the smallest flights。 / Dear god， if you are a season， let it be the one I passed through / to get here。 / Here。 That’s all I wanted to be。 / I promise。

Anna ，

"The most beautiful part of your body is where it's headed。 & remember， loneliness is still time spent with the world。"Really beautiful collection of poems， filled with great imagery and some truly stunning lines。 Vuong writes like a less panicked Richard Siken。 So， if you liked Crush， you'll probably like this collection。 "The most beautiful part of your body is where it's headed。 & remember， loneliness is still time spent with the world。"Really beautiful collection of poems， filled with great imagery and some truly stunning lines。 Vuong writes like a less panicked Richard Siken。 So， if you liked Crush， you'll probably like this collection。 。。。more

Vidya ，

I'll re-read the good ones in this collection till the music ends。 I absolutely love his mastery over words， it's magic when the stars align。 Some poems in this book sound a bit whimsical and steeped in vague ideas（or maybe I should read those ones again， you never know）。 But I really loved almost everything about this one。 Also I'm really inspired by his style and hope I can bring some of those techniques into my work。Favorites- Telemachus， Aubade with burning city， Anaphora as a coping mechani I'll re-read the good ones in this collection till the music ends。 I absolutely love his mastery over words， it's magic when the stars align。 Some poems in this book sound a bit whimsical and steeped in vague ideas（or maybe I should read those ones again， you never know）。 But I really loved almost everything about this one。 Also I'm really inspired by his style and hope I can bring some of those techniques into my work。Favorites- Telemachus， Aubade with burning city， Anaphora as a coping mechanism， Eurydice。 。。。more

Tanay Suresh ，

I absolutely loved this poetry collection。 The collection being an exploration in itself， where he tried to build a character for his absent father was beautiful。 And the use of animals to depict different aspects and issues we face in this world furthermore increased my zest to continue reading the collection。

Francisco Paniagua ，

UN POETA LLAMADO OCEAN VUONGEn este Día Internacional contra la Homofobia， la Lesbofobia， la Bifobia y la Transfobia recupero la lectura de Cielo nocturno con heridas de fuego de Ocean Vuong。“no conozco/ otro deseo más que la necesidad/ de ser destruido y restaurado”Un poemario vigorosísimo que NO habla desde el mesianismo: Vuong nos transmite su experiencia de ser un inmigrante， de perder al padre， de descubrir su sexualidad con un lenguaje personalísimo， fresco y profundamente humano。 Al hacer UN POETA LLAMADO OCEAN VUONGEn este Día Internacional contra la Homofobia， la Lesbofobia， la Bifobia y la Transfobia recupero la lectura de Cielo nocturno con heridas de fuego de Ocean Vuong。“no conozco/ otro deseo más que la necesidad/ de ser destruido y restaurado”Un poemario vigorosísimo que NO habla desde el mesianismo: Vuong nos transmite su experiencia de ser un inmigrante， de perder al padre， de descubrir su sexualidad con un lenguaje personalísimo， fresco y profundamente humano。 Al hacerlo así， recupera una de las más auténticas y vibrantes experiencias poéticas que haya leído en los últimos años， cargado de imágenes únicas， giros entrañables， y audacia， mucha audacia， en temas， tono， y forma。“Conocí a un hombre， no eras tú。 En su cuarto， sobre las repisas， temblaban las Biblias bajo la luz de las velas。 Su escroto era una fruta magullada。 Lo besésuavemente， como uno podría besar una granadaantes de lanzarla a la boca de la noche。”Un libro urgente que， en su singularidad， apunta a la honestidad que requiere la poesía actual para alejarse de los estereotipos rancios y fórmulas gastadas。 Traducido （además） por la mirada perspicaz de la extraordinaria poeta Elisa Díaz Castelo。Imperdible。 。。。more

Su Yadanar ，

“Don’t be afraid， the gunfire is only the sound of people trying to live a little longer and failing。”god， my heart breaks。

vienna ，

i feel like i died and got reborn

Kati ，

"I haveenough ink to give you the seabut not the ships， but it's my book& I'll say anything just to stay insidethis skin。" 3，5 stars。 No doubt Ocean Vuong is a very talented young writer and this collection had many extremely beautiful poems in it， but maybe in its entirety it did not quite match the hype for me。 "I won't tell you howthe mouth will never be honestas its teeth。" I am sure this collection would benefit from several reads， but as I don't have the chance for rereads right now I "I haveenough ink to give you the seabut not the ships， but it's my book& I'll say anything just to stay insidethis skin。" 3，5 stars。 No doubt Ocean Vuong is a very talented young writer and this collection had many extremely beautiful poems in it， but maybe in its entirety it did not quite match the hype for me。 "I won't tell you howthe mouth will never be honestas its teeth。" I am sure this collection would benefit from several reads， but as I don't have the chance for rereads right now I am hoping to return to this in the future and maybe get even more out of it。 "The most beautiful part of your bodyis where it's headed。 & remember，loneliness is still time spentwith the world。" 。。。more

Kayla ，

I should preface by saying that I don’t read much poetry。 I am just getting into it。 With that being said， I felt that most of these poems were just out of my reach。 The rhythm was palpable and the language beautiful - and although I caught some meanings here and there， I mostly felt like I was always missing something？ Overall I didn’t find the poems to be easily digestible。 I hope to take another stab at this down the road someday！

Tuna ，

This is the poetry collection I picked for AP English's last project。 Though I was thoroughly intrigued by Ocean Vuong's poems， I must admit， most of them make no to little sense to me （unless I reread them over and over again with a professional analysis pulled up。 I guess poetry is just not for me。 For my full analysis， read here。PS。 I have also just decided to opt out of the AP English AP because I don't think I have much of a chance at earning a 5 （the only reason which I would take it for t This is the poetry collection I picked for AP English's last project。 Though I was thoroughly intrigued by Ocean Vuong's poems， I must admit， most of them make no to little sense to me （unless I reread them over and over again with a professional analysis pulled up。 I guess poetry is just not for me。 For my full analysis， read here。PS。 I have also just decided to opt out of the AP English AP because I don't think I have much of a chance at earning a 5 （the only reason which I would take it for the Cornell FWS credit）。 However， though AP English did kick my ass， at least my rendition of Woman Warrior mythology essay got me first place for the Chappaqua Library writing contest :） 。。。more

Jan ，

the boy who finds youbeautiful only because you’re nota mirror because you don’t haveenough faces to abandon Brooklyn’s too cold tonight& all my friends are three years away。4。5Strange and stunning。 Some of the best poems I've ever read are in here。 the boy who finds youbeautiful only because you’re nota mirror because you don’t haveenough faces to abandon Brooklyn’s too cold tonight& all my friends are three years away。4。5Strange and stunning。 Some of the best poems I've ever read are in here。 。。。more

Clete ，

Beautiful language and imagery， but most of the time too cryptic to even figure out a train of thought。 I enjoy symbolism and metaphor and the in between worlds they create。 These， however， flew from my grasp into a sky just out of my comprehension’s reach。 Definitely worthy of deeper， intense， academic analysis instead of just a weekend read。

♡ ，

Very moving poetry collection that touches on the themes of nationality， sexuality and violence。 Simple words but visually impactful nonetheless。

Kashala Abrahams ，

"Show me how ruin makes a homeout of hip bones。"Ocean Vuong has such a beautiful way with words， I loved reading this poetry collection！My favourite poems being 'In Newport I Watch My Father Lay His Cheek to a Beached Dolphin’s Wet Back'， 'Immigrant Haibun'， 'Anaphora as Coping Mechanism' and 'Into the Breach。'Some quotes I liked: • "teach mehow to hold a man the way thirstholds water。 Let every river envyour mouths。"• "Summer in the mind。God opens his other eye:two moons in the lake。"• "your th "Show me how ruin makes a homeout of hip bones。"Ocean Vuong has such a beautiful way with words， I loved reading this poetry collection！My favourite poems being 'In Newport I Watch My Father Lay His Cheek to a Beached Dolphin’s Wet Back'， 'Immigrant Haibun'， 'Anaphora as Coping Mechanism' and 'Into the Breach。'Some quotes I liked: • "teach mehow to hold a man the way thirstholds water。 Let every river envyour mouths。"• "Summer in the mind。God opens his other eye:two moons in the lake。"• "your thighs where no man ever drowned from too much thirst"• "He throws my name into the air。 I watch the syllables crumble into pebbles across the deck。"• "He smiles。 A white hyphen where his lips should be"• "Stars。 Or rather， the drains of heaven—waiting。"• "his horse-head shadow thrown on the familyportraits， glass cracking beneathits stain。"• "to tell him it’s okay that the night is also a gravewe climb out of" 。。。more

Heather ，

Excerpt from Notebook Fragments:"I dreamed I walked barefoot all the way to your house in the snow。 Everything was the blue of smudged inkand you were still alive。 There was even a light the shade of sunrise insideyour window。God must be a season， grandma said， looking out at the blizzard drowning her garden。My footsteps on the sidewalk were the smallest flights。Dear god， if you are a season， let it be the one I passed through to get here。Here。 That's all I wanted to be。I promise。" Excerpt from Notebook Fragments:"I dreamed I walked barefoot all the way to your house in the snow。 Everything was the blue of smudged inkand you were still alive。 There was even a light the shade of sunrise insideyour window。God must be a season， grandma said， looking out at the blizzard drowning her garden。My footsteps on the sidewalk were the smallest flights。Dear god， if you are a season， let it be the one I passed through to get here。Here。 That's all I wanted to be。I promise。" 。。。more

Christy Sibila ，

The poem “Seventh Circle of Earth” is deeply moving and beautifully evocative。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Night Sky with Exit Wounds

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Night Sky with Exit Wounds&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Night Sky with Exit Wounds&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0