This week, the Vietnamese-born poet Ocean Vuong joins Sian to discuss his prose debut, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. Taking the form of a letter written by a Vietnamese migrant to the US to his mother who can’t read English, Vuong’s novel has already been hailed as the latest Great American Novel. He shares the autobiographical roots of his book, why US citizenship begins in its foreign policy, and why so many positive words in American vernacular – smashed it, slaying, making a killing – are rooted in violence.

And Claire, Richard and Sian look at the history of the term “Great American Novel” and what more recent candidates could take on that label today.

Reading list

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (Jonathan Cape)