Ocean Vuong is the special guest at Reykjavík Poetics

Reykjavík Poetics is a community-focused artists' collective that creates space for local and international authors to participate in multiple languages, making literature accessible and inclusive while fostering a vibrant community where diverse voices can be heard.

For this event, Vietnamese American author Ocean Vuong will host the evening's program at Mengi. Þuríður Jónsdóttir, Atli Ingólfsson, Snædís Björnsdóttir, Ólöf Arnalds and Jeff Thompson will also perform.

Ocean Vuong

Over the past decade, Ocean Vuong has established himself as a leading figure in contemporary American literature as both a poet and a novelist.

Vuong rose to international prominence with his poetry collection Night Sky with Exit Wounds (2016), which won the T. S. Eliot Prize among other honors, and his bestselling novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous (2019), which earned widespread critical acclaim. He has received numerous honors for his work, including a MacArthur Fellowship, and is a professor of creative writing and poetry at New York University. His latest novel, The Emperor of Gladness, was published in 2025.

Distinctly lyrical, his work often blurs the boundary between poetry and prose. His writing explores themes of memory, loss, family, language, migration, class and identity. He also emphasizes the spoken dimension of poetry and the relationship between text, voice and live performance.

Connections to Reykjavík and Icelandic cultural life

Vuong already has strong ties to Reykjavík. He stayed here while working on On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous and has said he finished the novel at Perlan. Reykjavík therefore has a direct connection to one of his major works. He also maintains a longstanding artistic and personal dialogue with Björk. They have spoken together publicly on numerous occasions about literature, music, grief, creativity and the artistic process. Their conversations have appeared in publications such as AnOther Magazine and BOMB Magazine, reflecting the interdisciplinary approach that characterizes both artists' work.

Vuong has also shown a particular interest in Icelandic and Nordic literature. He has discussed Halldór Laxness alongside other Nordic authors pioneering new narrative forms, highlighting Icelandic manuscripts and the vital role language and storytelling play in cultural memory and identity.

Vuong and live poetry

Vuong himself has spoken of poetry readings as a distinct form of performing arts. In his approach, a reading is more than the communication of a text; it is an interplay of text, voice, body, space and audience. He has also described poetry as an experience that does not always need to be “solved” or interpreted in conventional ways, but rather as an atmosphere that an audience member or reader enters. This approach fits well with the philosophy RVK Poetics has developed, which emphasizes poetry as a living art form and its connections to performance, music and other arts.

Participation in RVK Poetics

Ocean Vuong's participation in RVK Poetics is a major asset to the project and to Reykjavík UNESCO City of Literature. Developed as a platform for contemporary poetry, RVK Poetics emphasizes live performance, international connections and dialogue between poetry and other art forms. Vuong is especially well suited to this focus, both because of his standing as a poet and because of his approach to performance and creating art across disciplines.

Having an author of such international stature take part in the City of Literature program's regular programming is also significant recognition of the work that has gone into developing RVK Poetics. More than a typical guest appearance, this event welcomes an author with direct ties to Reykjavík, Icelandic cultural life and Icelandic literature. Vuong's participation therefore strengthens RVK Poetics' standing as an international platform for contemporary poetry and demonstrates Reykjavík UNESCO City of Literature's ability to create programming that appeals to leading authors in world literature.