Bangladeshi writing in English
FICTION / Residence
I plead but I know there is nothing I can do. Akbar, in a rare fit of courage, tries to intervene. But the old man does not budge. Maybe he knows about Mina and me.
POETRY / What to do when faced with tear bombs
Hold on to the hand of your lover. Because when the baton falls it will be between the spaces where we stand.
POETRY / Silent friday
Somehow, the taste of tear gas
BOOK REVIEW: NONFICTION / 'Thrice born': The journey of Bangladeshi literature in English
Bangladeshi Literature in English: Critical Essays and Interviews, edited by Mohammad A. Quayum and Md. Mahmudul Hasan, focuses on critical essays on Bangladeshi literature in English—both from Bangladesh and its diasporas (US, UK, and Australia).
POETRY / Survival tactics for “peaceful” protests
Stay in a group, never in alleyways
POETRY / Look out the windows
In the blanks of muddy moonlight
POETRY / Magic boys and girls of Bangladesh
Magic boys and girls of Bangladesh, I love you.
ESSAY / Manufacturing praise
Sometime ago, a writer reached out to me with a request. His debut novel was being published later in the year and he was wondering if I would be open to reviewing it. I was aware of the book, having read it when it was still only a draft. The author was not someone I only knew, either, but a mentor who had supported my writing in many ways, even through monetary means. Refusing him, then, felt tantamount to betrayal. But I had to in the end, and though he understood, I still came out of the exchange feeling guilty of being unhelpful or, worse, ungrateful.
A case for funding the Bangladeshi English-writing scene
If the country’s literary potential is not given generous support, we may never create favourable conditions for aspiring writers to devote time and energy to the art
Residence
I plead but I know there is nothing I can do. Akbar, in a rare fit of courage, tries to intervene. But the old man does not budge. Maybe he knows about Mina and me.
Silent friday
Somehow, the taste of tear gas
What to do when faced with tear bombs
Hold on to the hand of your lover. Because when the baton falls it will be between the spaces where we stand.
'Thrice born': The journey of Bangladeshi literature in English
Bangladeshi Literature in English: Critical Essays and Interviews, edited by Mohammad A. Quayum and Md. Mahmudul Hasan, focuses on critical essays on Bangladeshi literature in English—both from Bangladesh and its diasporas (US, UK, and Australia).
Survival tactics for “peaceful” protests
Stay in a group, never in alleyways
Magic boys and girls of Bangladesh
Magic boys and girls of Bangladesh, I love you.
Look out the windows
In the blanks of muddy moonlight
Manufacturing praise
Sometime ago, a writer reached out to me with a request. His debut novel was being published later in the year and he was wondering if I would be open to reviewing it. I was aware of the book, having read it when it was still only a draft. The author was not someone I only knew, either, but a mentor who had supported my writing in many ways, even through monetary means. Refusing him, then, felt tantamount to betrayal. But I had to in the end, and though he understood, I still came out of the exchange feeling guilty of being unhelpful or, worse, ungrateful.
A case for funding the Bangladeshi English-writing scene
If the country’s literary potential is not given generous support, we may never create favourable conditions for aspiring writers to devote time and energy to the art
What you call your own
As an Anglophone writer in Bangladesh, I’ve frequently faced the rather inane question of why I write in English.