Alternative routes
The book as a whole is a rigorously pursued exercise in the close reading of a fascinating and diverse array of modern texts that aren't quite in the category of the canonical mainstream.
12m ago
‘FOR YOUR SAKE, O FREEDOM’ 1971 and Bangladeshi poetry
Bangladeshi poetry has always been sensitive to socio-political issues and public themes. In discussing the poetic response to the Liberation War, therefore, it is useful to start with the broad historical background, move on to the literary tradition, and then consider the poetry itself.
1y ago
HEFTY AT FIFTY: ‘When the Mango Tree Blossomed’ and other short stories from Bangladesh
The centenary of the Father of the Nation, and following on its heels the golden jubilee of the country’s independence, have precipitated a tireless round of celebratory events and an avalanche of varied publications.
2y ago
1971: Some fragments of memory
For a couple of months after the 1970 elections everything seemed simple and straightforward.
2y ago
Remembering a literary personality: Farida Majid (1942-2021)
I find two distinct types among denizens of the world of letters. There are writers single-mindedly focused on literary production in one genre or more, and others I would call, for want of a better term, literary personalities.
2y ago
FEMALE WARRIORS
I had decided to write a brief review of Selima Chowdhury’s book when it was first published, but what with one thing or another making me put it off, a couple of years rolled by, and we found ourselves caught up in a pandemic with no end in sight.
2y ago
The China wave in literature
At the Hay Dhaka Literary Festival of 2012 the celebrated Indian writer Vikram Seth, after reading some of his fine translations of Chinese poetry, remarked that he found it odd that his fellow South Asians were incurious about the great civilization north of the Himalayas.
2y ago
September 30, 2023
KA DINGA PEPO
It is odd that nowadays One seldom hears the words
April 29, 2023
Alternative routes
The book as a whole is a rigorously pursued exercise in the close reading of a fascinating and diverse array of modern texts that aren't quite in the category of the canonical mainstream.
March 26, 2023
‘FOR YOUR SAKE, O FREEDOM’ 1971 and Bangladeshi poetry
Bangladeshi poetry has always been sensitive to socio-political issues and public themes. In discussing the poetic response to the Liberation War, therefore, it is useful to start with the broad historical background, move on to the literary tradition, and then consider the poetry itself.
December 16, 2021
1971: Some fragments of memory
For a couple of months after the 1970 elections everything seemed simple and straightforward.
December 16, 2021
HEFTY AT FIFTY: ‘When the Mango Tree Blossomed’ and other short stories from Bangladesh
The centenary of the Father of the Nation, and following on its heels the golden jubilee of the country’s independence, have precipitated a tireless round of celebratory events and an avalanche of varied publications.
October 7, 2021
Remembering a literary personality: Farida Majid (1942-2021)
I find two distinct types among denizens of the world of letters. There are writers single-mindedly focused on literary production in one genre or more, and others I would call, for want of a better term, literary personalities.
September 4, 2021
FEMALE WARRIORS
I had decided to write a brief review of Selima Chowdhury’s book when it was first published, but what with one thing or another making me put it off, a couple of years rolled by, and we found ourselves caught up in a pandemic with no end in sight.
July 19, 2021
The China wave in literature
At the Hay Dhaka Literary Festival of 2012 the celebrated Indian writer Vikram Seth, after reading some of his fine translations of Chinese poetry, remarked that he found it odd that his fellow South Asians were incurious about the great civilization north of the Himalayas.
July 17, 2021
Homage to a publisher
A book may look like a house or a coffin But a maker of books cannot be contained between ordinary covers. Between the Muses’ minions, stodgy academics, Smarmy marketing men and discount-hungry retailers He waves a baton to conduct a chorus That threatens to collapse any moment into cacophony, Yet keeps the show going,
July 15, 2021
A perennial philosophy: Amitav Ghosh’s ‘Jungle Nama’
Amitav Ghosh’s passionate engagement with the Sundarbans has brought out his best as a socially conscious fashioner of narrative in The Hungry Tide (HarperCollins, 2004) and Gun Island (John Murray, 2019); enriched his intervention in the discourse on ecology, The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable (Penguin, 2016); and perhaps most felicitously, has brought to light the poet hiding behind his voluminous prose.
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