Professor Ha Minh Duc was recently awarded the 2012 Ho Chi Minh Prize for a series of books about the literary career of late President Ho Chi Minh and for his research about the culture and literature of Viet Nam.

Duc served as president of the Literature Institute and head of the Journalism Department of the Ha Noi University of Social Sciences and Humanities. A devoted teacher and passionate researcher and poet, he has published 50 books. Here, he talks about his passion for the work:

How did you use your time productively?

Everyone has the same amount of time. Myself, I work continuously every day and I don't wait for a deadline to do things. I often do two or three different things at the same time. I believe that the most important thing for everyone is to know exactly what they want to do, and what are the difficulties and advantages of the work they want to do.

A researcher's thought process needs to be logical, but a poet should be romantic and creative. When were you inspired to write poetry?

My son died when he was only 17 years old. I was shocked for a long time and couldn't do anything. My first poem was the one I wrote to him after his death. And then I began to write other poems. All are imbued with the sadness I felt.

According to you, what is the most important quality of a literature researcher?

A researcher must have knowledge, which can only be gained with time. A researcher has to be fair and have no prejudices. A person's life is long, and if you don't prepare well for it, your life may be incomplete.

You wrote an outstanding book compiling your research on famous Vietnamese poets and writers including Xuan Dieu, Huy Can, To Huu, Che Lan Vien, Nguyen Dinh Thi, Te Hanh, and Anh Tho. What did you learn from them?

I had the chance to meet some of the greatest poets of Viet Nam. I learned a lot from their knowledge and passion as well as their behaviour with other famous writers and poets.

The most discreet among them was writer To Hoai. But he is also very open to those that he appreciates. He knows many things about both literature and life. While Nguyen Dinh Thi is known for his very "human" books, Che Lan Vien also stands out with his confidence and his "strong" verses. And the conversations with those famous writers helped me to find life more gentle and more fair.

Which book took the most time and energy?

It's difficult to say. Every book takes time and energy. Working on the series of books about President Ho Chi Minh's literary career was a big challenge for me. It was hard to find new ideas that had not been written in other books. The books Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Lenin V.I. and Some Analysis of Art and Literature and Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Lenin V.I. and the Press were also challenging. Luckily, my efforts were not useless. Those books were appreciated and helped me win national book awards. — VNS