“Mr Speaker Sir, what did Bangalee intend to achieve? What rights did Bangalee want to possess? We do not need to discuss and decide on them now [after independence]. [We] tried to press our demands after the so called 1947 independence. Each of our days and years with Pakistan was an episode of bloodied history; a record of struggle for our rights,” said Tajuddin Ahmad on October 30, 1972 in the Constituent Assembly. He commented on the proposed draft constitution for Bangladesh, which was adopted on November 4, 1972.
Melissa Lozada-Oliva takes us on a bumpy apocalyptic horror ride in her debut novel Candelaria. Spanning across three generations of women, the novel ushers together an unsettled past and an even more bizarre present.
Pre-occupation Palestine had, to use Anglo-American poet WH Auden's words, "marble well-governed cities" full of "vines and olive trees." But Israel and its allies have turned it into "an artificial wilderness"
Review of ‘Apni Ki Alien Dekhte Chan?’ (Afsar Brothers, 2024) by Wasif Noor
Over the past couple of decades, Bangladesh has witnessed three significant social and political movements that have shaped the course of its history.
“All literature is regional; or conversely, no literature is regional”—is a common sentiment to have today, but I had first read those lines from Joyce Carol Oates, in her preface to a book of stories by one of Canada’s most gifted storytellers, Alistair MacLeod. In MacLeod’s short stories, his Cape Breton Island was a refrain through which the momentous lives of his ordinary characters came through.
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Gulshan Society held a two-day language festival at the Gulshan Lake Park, curated by Sadaf Saaz and Jatrik. The event took place over the weekend of 21-22 February that saw discussion panels, original musical performances, and poetry recitations, surrounded by an array of book stalls and food courts.
Like A Song of Ice and Fire, The Priory of the Orange Tree is told from the perspective of many different characters in various parts of the world, with different loyalties, religions, ranks, and abilities.
A serious lack of outlet demotivates the publishing of anglophone literature in our literary scene. But the situation isn't completely bleak.
"If books get damaged in the rain, no one wants to buy them, which means we have to incur severe losses. A few days ago, books worth 4,000 Taka got damaged from my stock and I was unable to sell those books. For someone like me, 4,000 taka is a very substantial amount.”
“We tried our best to keep the shop but the tides of change are upon us”, Bookworm announced on their social media today.
I once thought it was impossible to present the magnitude of the novel on stage.
When you go to a book-store, it is often difficult to choose from the plethora of newly released books available. The following list should help when deciding what new books to buy.
“The liberation war was terrifying for women and this is why Afsan Chowdhury’s book is crucial. It is important to study our culture to understand the history of our liberation war,” said Professor Sonia Nishat Amin.
When being asked how she finds the time to read, she shared that she reads backstage or in the backseat of her car, on her way to meetings or interviews, “especially if I’m into a book”.
By 1954 Jibanananda Das, after years of neglect, was beginning to gain increasing attention as a poet all over Bengal—East or West—and had a steady teaching job after a long, long time. Indeed, in 1953 he had been awarded the Rabindra-Smriti Puroshkar for his book of verse, Banalata Sen. In May, 1954 his Jibanananda Dasher Shreshto Kobita came out from a reasonably good publishing house, collecting his best poems.
The poems varied from mental health issues to individual freedom of expression and every musing in between.
