Read Smart - Pride Edition: On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

Join NC State Alumni Ryan Vasconcellos(He/They), B.A. Communications ‘22, and Griffin James (They/He), B.A. English ‘20 for a book discussion about Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. 

About the book:

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family’s history that began before he was born — a history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam — and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known, all of it leading to an unforgettable revelation. At once a witness to the fraught yet undeniable love between a single mother and her son, it is also a brutally honest exploration of race, class, and masculinity. (Source: Penguin Random House).

About Ryan Vasconcellos (He/they):

Ryan is an alum of NC State University, Class of 2022,  where they graduated with their Bachelor of Arts in Communications with a concentration in Communication Media.

About Griffin James (They/He):

Griffin is an alum of NC State University, Class of 2020, where they graduated with their Bachelor of Arts in English with a concentration in creative writing. They currently work at J&J Editorial as a Managing Editor where they process new and revised submissions across three different academic journals.