The Modern Novel

Biography

Duong Thu Huong was born in Thai Binh in 1947. Her father was a North Vietnamese military official. She served for seven years in a performing arts group that entertained the troops fighting the Americans, but also had to help the wounded and perform similar tasks. However, after the war, she took an increasingly critical stance towards the Vietnamese government. She started writing but as she could not get her writings published in Vietnam, she tried to get them published abroad. She was expelled from the Communist Party and then arrested and imprisoned, though she was released after seven months in prison. She has continued to write, including novels, stories, poetry and screenplays, but little is published in Vietnam. She has chosen to remain in Vietnam, though forced to work as a translator to earn a living.

Other links

Duong Thu Huong
Duong Thu Huong
Vietnamese Writer Won’t Be Silenced
Lives Reshaped by History (profile)