Outhine Bounyavong

Who was Outhine Bounyavong?

Outhine Bounyavong was a Laotian writer, known especially for works of contemporary fiction.

Born in 1942 in Xaignabouli Province, he grew up in the capital, Vientiane, where one of his early teachers was Somchine Nginn, author of the first novel in Lao.

Outhine held a variety of jobs during the 1960s, and began to publish short fictional works in newspapers and magazines. He came to be associated with the group of writers who were the children of Maha Sila Viravong, an important Laotian scholar. Eventually he married one of this group, Duangdeuane Viravong, a prominent author in her own right.

Outhine worked during the Laotian Civil War and, after the Communist victory in 1975, continued to write for the State Publishing House. Many of his stories celebrate traditional aspects of Laotian rural life, and at least one collection has been translated into English as Mother's Beloved.

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