Numerous important literary magazines were established in the south after 1954, including Văn hoa Ngay nay (Literature Today), Tin văn (Literary News), Trinh bay (Expound), Sang tạo (Create) and Quan điểm (Opinion), which introduced new currents of thought from the west such as existentialism and humanism. Together with the newly-established Sai Gon branch of PEN International and the Front for the Protection of Cultural Freedom, these publications did much to facilitate the development of new writing. Southern literary development was further encouraged by the establishment of various state literary prizes.

Emigre prose writers from the north regrouping in the south after 1954 included not only established figures such as Nhất Linh, Tam Lang (Vũ Đinh Chi, 1901-1986), Trọng Lang (Trần Tan Cửu, 1906-1986), Lang Nhan (Phung Tất Đắc, b 1907), Đai Đức Tuấn (Tchya, 1908-1969), Y Uyen (Nguyễn Văn Uy, 1911-1969) and Vũ Bằng (1913-1984) but also younger novelists and short story writers such as Nguyễn Thị Vinh (b 1924), Dương Nghiễm Mậu (Phi Ich Nghiễm, b 1936), Duyen Anh (Vũ Mộng Long, b 1936), Nhật Tiến (Bui Nhật Tiến, b 1936), Thảo Trường (Trần Duy Hinh, b 1939), Le Tất Điều (b 1942) and Trung Dương (Nguyễn Thị Thai, b 1944).

It was largely under their influence that southern prose writing came of age during the period 1954-1975 with the works of Binh Nguyen Lộc (To Văn Tuấn, b 1914), Vo Phiến (b 1925), Sơn Nam (Phạm Minh Tay, b 1926), Ngọc Linh (Dương Đại Tam, b 1935) and Nguyễn Thị Thụy Vũ (Nguyễn Băng Lĩnh, b 1939) from the south and Linh Bảo (Vo Thị Diệu Vien, b 1926), Minh Đức Hoai Trinh (Vo Thị Hoai Trinh, b 1930), Nguyễn Xuan Hoang (b 1937), Tuy Hồng (Nguyễn Thị Tuy Hồng, b 1938), Nha Ca (Trần Thị Thu Van, b 1939), Nguyễn Thị Hoang (b 1939) and Nguyễn Mộng Giac (b 1940) from the central provinces.

Leading poets of the 1950s and 1960s included northern emigres Tương Phố (Đỗ Thị Đam, 1900-199?), Bang Ba Lan (1912-1988), Vũ Hoang Chương (1916-1976), Đinh Hung (1920-1967), Nguyen Sa (Trần Bich Lan, b 1932) and Cung Trầm Tưởng (Cung Thuc Cần, b 1936); Quach Tấn (b 1910), Nguyễn Vỹ (Co Diệu Huyền, 1910-197?), Bui Giang (b 1926), Quach Thoại (Đoan Thoại, 1929-1957), Thanh Tam Tuyền (Dzư Văn Tam, b 1936) and Nguyễn Đức Sơn (Sao Tren Rừng, b 1937) from central Việt Nam; and Đong Hồ (Lam Tấn Phac, 1906-1969), Kien Giang (b 1929) and To Thuy Yen (Đinh Thanh Tien, b 1938) from the south.

However, the southern literary flowering proved short-lived; whilst the overthrow of the Diệm government in 1963 brought greater artistic freedom, growing political instability, the escalation of war with the north and the steady slide into official corruption and decadence which attended the influx of large numbers of American troops in the period after 1963 engendered what one scholar has called a 'culture of entertainment'. In a radical departure from the past, a people brought up to associate literature with education and moral improvement turned increasingly for escapism to cheap imported martial arts novels and sentimental romances. In order to survive in this new climate many members of the literary community began writing daily feuilletons (serialised stories) for the newspapers, whilst others turned out novels featuring unusually racy subject matter. Nonetheless the last years of the Sai Gon regime did see some literary works of note, notably the novels of Nhật Tiến, Le Tất Diều and Nha Ca with their vivid descriptions of the horrors of war.

In the north the immediate aftermath of the August Revolution saw the establishment of the Nhan văn Giai phẩm writers movement, the name of which was drawn from its two journals Nhan văn (Humanism) and Giai phẩm (Works of Beauty). Established by a group of northern intellectuals which included writers Trần Dần, Hoang Cầm (b 1922), Phan Khoi (1887-1959), Nguyễn Hữu Đang, Trương Tửu, Trần Đức Thảo and Thụy An, this movement aimed to secure a greater measure of intellectual independence for the Vietnamese literary community. However the trial which followed firmly established the principle that Vietnamese literature existed to advance socialism and must be guided by the Communist Party vanguard. With the establishment of the Việt Nam Writers’ Association in 1957 northern literature became firmly subordinated to the task of building the socialist future.

During the 1960s and early 1970s the northern literary œvre continued to identify closely with the national and ideological cause. Amongst the best-known patriotic poems of this period were Chặng đường hanh quan ('On the Campaign Trail', 1960) by Xuan Miễn, Cuộc chia ly mau đỏ ('The Red Farewell', 1964) by Nguyễn Mỹ (1935-1971), Ra trận ('To the Front', 1972) by Tố Hữu and Những bai thơ đanh giặc ('Poems Against the Enemy', 1972) by Chế Lan Vien. Important revolutionary poems were also written during this period by Minh Huệ (Nguyễn Đức Thai, 1927-2003), winner of numerous awards for his works on the Xo Viết Nghệ Tĩnh uprising of 1930-1931 and the life of Hồ Chi Minh; Giang Nam (Nguyễn Sung, b 1929) and Thu Bồn (Ha Đức Trọng, 1935-2003), both recipients of the Southern Revolutionary National Fatherland Front's Nguyễn Đinh Chiểu Award for Literature; and a group of younger poets which included Hoang Minh Chau (b 1930), Phạm Ngọc Cảnh (Vũ Ngan Chi, b 1934), Nguyễn Xuan Tham (b 1936), Vo Văn Trực (b 1936), Văn nghệ (Literary Arts) Newspaper Awards winners Dương Hương Ly (Bui Minh Quốc, b 1940), Phạm Tiến Duật (b 1941), Bằng Việt (b 1941), Hữu Thỉnh (b 1942), Nguyễn Khoa Điềm (b 1943), Anh Ngọc (Ly Sơn, b 1943), Nguyễn Duy (b 1948), Nguyễn Đức Mậu (Hương Hai Hưng, b 1948) and Hoang Nhuận Cầm (b 1952), playwright Lưu Quang Vũ (1948-1988) and war martyrs Nguyễn Trọng Định (1939-1968), Trần Quang Long (1941-1968) and Le Anh Xuan (1940-1968).

Throughout the American War leading prose writers of the 1940s and 1950s such as Nguyễn Cong Hoan, Nguyen Hồng, Bui Hiển, To Hoai, Nguyễn Văn Bổng, Chu Văn, Thanh Chau and Nguyễn Đinh Thi continued to devote their work to the revolutionary cause. Other important novelists and short story writers emerging during this period included Thep Mới (Anh Hồng, 1925-1991), Vo Huy Tam (1926-1996), Nguyễn Trọng Oanh (1929-1993), Ngo Ngọc Bội (b 1929), Nguyễn Minh Chau (1930-1989), Nguyễn Khải (b 1930), Vũ Thị Thường (b 1930), Phan Tứ (Le Kham, 1930-1995), Vũ Bao (b 1931), Ma Văn Khang (b 1936), Đỗ Chu (b 1944) and war martyrs Le Vĩnh Hoa (1932-1967), Nguyễn Thi (Nguyễn Ngọc Tấn, 1928-1968) and Chu Cẩm Phong (1941-1971). Of particular importance was a small group of southern writers who had regrouped in the north after 1954 and now returned south into enemy territory to gather material for their compositions; these included novelists Nguyễn Quang Sang (b 1932), Anh Đức (Bui Đức Aui, b 1935) and Nguyen Ngọc (1932).