Rifat Munim releases anthology, ‘Bangladesh: A Literary Journey through 50 Short Stories’
Lush greeneries and a crimson sun depict riverine Bangladesh on the cover of Bangladesh: A Literary Journey through 50 Short Stories, curated by writer and editor Rifat Munim. On November 25, 2022, India based publisher Bee Books released the cover for the anthology that they had then said would soon hit bookstores.
The anthology binds 50 stories arising from the heart of Bangladesh, "steeped in history and politics", they said.
Through the stories "the reader witnesses the rise of a language-based nationalism and the subsequent birth of Bangladesh in 1971, and also how the country fell back into the clutches of military dictatorship till democracy was restored in 1990", the publisher's Facebook page mentions.
The collection is edited by Rifat Munim, a writer, editor, translator, and journalist based in Bangladesh, who previously worked as the literary editor of The Daily Star and Dhaka Tribune. He was also a jury member for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature in 2019.
Earlier today, he announced that the book has been released. "Finally, it's out!" he posted, "Spent the better part of the past two years putting this anthology together. Thanks are due to my publisher Esha Chatterjee for taking such good care of the book, and also to all the writers and translators for their patience and contributions."
The book includes stories by "writers who emerged between the 1950s and the 1990s", including Syed Waliullah, Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, Selina Hossain, Zahir Raihan, Moshiul Alam, Papree Rahman, Wasi Ahmed, Monira Qais, and many more.
Translators will include Shabnam Nadiya, Mahmud Rahman, Arunava Sinha, Kaiser Haq, Shawkat Hussain, Parveen Elias, Fakrul Alam, Khademul Islam, Rama Sangye, Devalina Mookerjee, among others.
The book will be launched at the Dhaka Lit Fest starting Thursday, January 5, where Rifat Munim is also hosting a session on the third day of the festival with the writer and the translator of Booker Prize winning novel Tomb of Sand, Geetanjali Shree and Daisy Rockwell.
Maisha Syeda is a writer, painter, and the Sub editor of Daily Star Books.