On Literary Matters: The Diversity of Writing

Literary Matters, the online literary discussion series, launched by The Daily Star, focus among other things on academia, diversity of writing, and up and coming writers and thinkers. Hosted by Dr. Sohana Manzoor, the Literary Editor of The Daily Star, the fourth session of Literary Matters was held Saturday, 24 September 2022. The guests of the session were acclaimed writers Shagufta Sharmeen Tania and Rahad Abir. Both have been writing for quite some years now, and have been awarded for their excellent work.

          British Bangladeshi writer, Shagufta Sharmeen Tania, was initially trained as an architect but has been writing too for many years now. Her stories have appeared in Wasafiri, Asia Literary Review, City Press, and the speaking volumes anthology, Not Quite Right For Us. One of her short stories has been published in Massachusetts Review and another one is coming up in Adda Magazine in Autumn 2022. Her short story, "What Men Live By," was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story prize 2022, She has also been writing in Bengali for many years. Ms. Tania is also the youngest recipient of Bangla Academy Syed Waliullah Award (2018) for outstanding contribution to Bengali literature.

          Rahad Abir is an alumnus of the Department of English, University of Dhaka, who later earned an MFA in fiction from Boston University. He is the recipient of the Marguerite
McGlinn Prize for Fiction, 2021. He also received the Charles Pick Fellowship 2017-18, University of East Anglia, UK. He was a finalist for the 2021 Miami Book Fair Emerging Writer Fellowship. His works have been published in Los Angeles Review, Witness, Singapore Unbound, The Bombay Literary Magazine, Himal Southasian, and elsewhere.

          In a guided discussion, the two guests spoke about their journey as fiction and nonfiction writers. They mentioned how many renowned writers such as Dickens, Marquez and the three doyens of Bengali literature, the Bandyopadhyays among others have heavily influenced the two in penning their powerful stories

          In the session, the guests spoke about their perspectives on writing and its formula. Starting from writing stories on the back pages in an Arabic way from the right to the left, to finishing a virtual residency with the National Centre of Writing, self-translating a series of retold fairy tales based on Dakshina Ranjan Mitra Majumdar's collected fairy tales, Shagufta Sharmeen Tania has come a long way in the world of writing. Even though belonging to both Bangladesh and the United Kingdom, Ms. Tania's sense of belonging is rooted in Bangladesh and its culture. In addition, she also believes that writers should have social and moral responsibilities, but without being too obvious. For Rahad Abir, reading and writing is an enjoyment. He started reading when he was in 6th grade, borrowing books from his friends and neighbors. Some years later, Mr. Abir realized the power of words, that he could spread his ideas and say things out loud in his writings. Writing, for him, is purely a solitary activity. Between short stories and novels, Rahad Abir is now comfortable with the process of writing novels --considering them only a longer version of short stories. A citizen of the world, and a Bangladeshi at heart, all his writing is naturally set in Bangladesh.

          The discussion was lively and informative reflecting the rigorous work that the authors put in their work. It came to an end after the guests shared their thoughts about their future projects of novels and short story collections.

Shahriyer Hossain Shetu is  currently pursuing his MA in Cultural Studies and Literature at ULAB and is interested in creative writing and translation.