REN N. DINH (MAI) is a non-binary writer of both academic and creative texts. They graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a Bachelor’s in English Literature, and Hanoi National University of Education with a Master’s in Literary Theory. Their research focuses on queer theory and queer Vietnamese and Asian American literature, tapping into the intellectual excitement and critical empathy that a queer Asian diaspora can enable and liberate.

TRẦN DẦN (1926-1997) was an influential Vietnamese poet and writer known for revolutionizing Vietnamese poetry through his innovations in both form and ideology.
Though many of his works faced censorship and banning from 1960-1990, Trần Dần persevered in his literary pursuit throughout his life. The origins of Crossroads and Lampposts can be traced back to a project sponsored by the Hanoi Police Department in the early 1960s. The handwritten manuscript was completed in 1966 and submitted to the Police Department for review. It was returned to Trần Dần 22 years later, in 1988, but remained unpublished until 2011. Trần Dần himself passed away in 1997.
In 2007, Trần Dần was posthumously awarded the prestigious National Prize for Literature and Arts, recognizing his significant creative legacy. During his lifetime, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hanoi Writers Association.

UYÊN NGUYỄN is a historian of modern Vietnam, with a strong interest in modern Vietnamese literature. She holds a PhD in History from the University of California, Berkeley and is currently Lecturer in the College of Humanities and Sciences and Department of History, National University of Singapore. Uyên’s current research project examines the communist takeovers of previously French-controlled cities in North Vietnam and the political and socio-cultural transformations that took place during the first four years after Ho Chi Minh’s government gained total control of the North (1954–1958).