Born in Câmpulung to Gheorghe Nanu and his wife Zoia (née Hristodos), he attended primary school in his native town, followed by Matei Basarab and Saint Sava high schools in Bucharest.

He made his literary debut in 1891 in Lumea ilustrată; his first published volume, Nocturne, appeared in 1900.

He was a traditionalist poet, strongly influenced by Mihai Eminescu (as can be seen both in his debut volume and in the 1934 Poezii).

Nanu particularly focused on lyric poems characterized by religious and philosophical meditation.

[2] Nanu died in 1943 in Câmpulung, in the arms of his nephew, the poet Mihai Moșandrei.