Huy Can, whose full name is Cu Huy Can, was born in 1919 into a lower middle-class farming family in the central province of Ha Tinh. After schooling in Hue, he moved to Hanoi to attend an agriculture college in 1939.
His poems began to appear in newspapers in 1936 and his collection “Sacred Fire” that was published in 1940 established him as one of the most notable names of the New Poetry movement.
He joined the Viet Minh movement in 1942 and after the August Revolution in 1945, he was one of the three members of the provisional revolutionary government’s mission to attend Emperor Bao Dai’s abdication.
In the following years, he held various posts including Special Investigator of the revolutionary government, Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Culture and Secretary-General of the Government Council.
He is a popular poets among many generations of Vietnamese readers.
According to Professor Phong Le, Huy Can was one of the few who helped shape the new poetry and Vietnamese poetry in general.
He is also one of the most prolific poets of the 20th century, with his last poem collection published in 2002 before his passing in 2005.
Huy Can was awarded with many honours, including the Gold Star Order, the Ho Chi Minh Order and the Ho Chi Minh Awards for Literature and Arts for his significant contributions to the Vietnamese revolution and poetry.
