Star Literature
ESSAY / We still dream of the things that Sultana dreamed of
As long as the problems addressed in Sultana’s Dream continue to exist and be relevant, we must uphold Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain’s work, values, and ideologies
ESSAY / Ludic space for Tagore’s fictive children
An interesting concern in contemporary children’s literature criticism is the discussion of power. Do the fictive children in children’s books, conceived and delivered by the adult author, have the ability to exercise their will and possess a voice?
POETRY / Soldier amidst the blood moon: An elegy
Crimson blood splattered amongst the ravaged lands
FICTION / The pond
She walked, entranced, into the water until it reached her chin, the wing of her little pink butterfly stuck out like a shark fin.
CREATIVE NONFICTION / Vinayeki
Oh that angelic call, yet I cannot respond. I cannot open my mouth in fear of the burning pain overpowering my senses.
The Screaming Shorts / Hunt
Talespeople presents The Screaming Shorts, partnered with Daily Star Books and Star Literature.
CREATIVE NONFICTION / Baldwin in December
Baldwin was sitting right beside, smoking, killing time, thinking of love and loneliness, friendships and misfortunes. Of Martin and Malcolm.
The Screaming Shorts / Séance In The 70's
Talespeople presents The Screaming Shorts, partnered with Daily Star Books and Star Literature
FICTION / 121/B, East Basabo
After my death, Nana sent a notice of eviction to all the tenants.
Poetry / We’re still alive
We’re still alive/ but they wanted to die a natural death
Game
My mother took me on her horse and started to ride south. I clutched my bleeding arm, the pain snapping me fully awake.
My scarlet incarnation
Being a woman comes to me naturally If not me, then who? I was never asked to be one I was never asked to cook
The progressive depiction of women in ‘Devdas’
In some ways, Sharatchandra places the blame for Devdas's ensuing sorrow on his lack of courage, made all the more noticeable in comparison to Parbati's courage in breaking social norms despite the dire consequences it could have for her.
The Black Cat
This is a translation by Md. Abu Zafor of Bimal Guha’s “Kalo Biral” from the collection ‘E Kon Matal Nritya' (first published in 2022).
A pressed flower
Pressed between pages Of a heavy book, a rose-– Neither flourishes nor wilts.
How to write a love song
500 years ago, Edmund Spenser wrote a poem to celebrate a wedding taking place beside the River Thames. Each stanza ends with the refrain: “Sweet Thames, run softly till I end my song”.
Small dreams
On the heart of a place where heather blossoms, Dreams of scattered bodies and burnt heath Against the walls where children live
