Beyond stereotypes: Rupert Grey’s ‘Homage to Bangladesh’

Rupert Grey, a descendant of Charles Grey and best known professionally as a leading libel and copyright lawyer stood against this statement. “If Bangladesh is a basket case,” Grey tells The Daily Star, “then it is so in the best possible way.” For him, the term collapses under the sheer vitality of the country. A single square metre of a Bangladeshi street, he argues, holds more energy than entire neighbourhoods in London. Where life in England often unfolds in rigid routines, Bangladesh thrives in spontaneity—where a hanging lighter at a tea stall can become a moment of shared choreography.
25 January 2026, 12:24 PM Books & Literature
FLASH FICTION / The rickshaw artist
24 January 2026, 01:52 AM Books & Literature
FLASH FICTION / Pirouette of a phoenix
24 January 2026, 01:48 AM Books & Literature
POETRY / Memories
24 January 2026, 01:36 AM Books & Literature

EDITORIAL / Why read?
22 January 2026, 00:00 AM Books & Literature
THE SHELF / 7 new books to look out for in 2026
22 January 2026, 00:00 AM Books & Literature

INTERVIEW / Reclaiming the unwritten: Kanika Gupta on colonialism, embodiment, and the art of remembering

Gupta shares her insights on reclaiming forgotten histories, reimagining myths, and connecting ancient narratives to contemporary ecological and social concerns.
22 November 2025, 11:51 AM Books & Literature
EVENT REPORT / An eco-critical look at Sultan: Reading the manuscript of ‘Sultan Er Krishi Jiggasha’
With the aid of Duniyadari Archive, Pavel Partha’s soon-to-be-published book Sultan Er Krishi Jiggasha is a new addition, which looks at Sultan’s work from an eco-critical perspective.
8 November 2025, 11:43 AM Books & Literature
NEWS REPORT / “Curious love letter”: Wole Soyinka responds after US cancels visa
He responded to the situation with grace, mentioning “I like people who have a sense of humour".
30 October 2025, 10:45 AM Books & Literature

The ethics of ghostwriting in fiction

Ghostwriting is not new, and Millie Bobby Brown is not the first celebrity to hire a ghostwriter. But, soon after she published her book, she came under fire for using one.
28 December 2023, 12:32 PM

Learning to let go

As the novel progresses, you peel back layers of history between Claire and her grandparents and realise that the Korea issue isn’t as straightforward as our protagonist imagined.
28 December 2023, 12:23 PM

5 books you should read before 2023 ends

As 2023 draws to a close, we have compiled a list of books we think you should read that capture the essence of the year and prepare you for another vibrant year of reading.
27 December 2023, 13:45 PM

A pleasant pool of magic I would happily drown in

What I loved most as a reader about her is that her strength was not displayed in the conventional ways that most fantasy books tend to use to depict a powerful woman.
25 December 2023, 15:55 PM

UPL organises Book Talk highlighting the essence of Bengali poets writing in English

In this discussion, a throughline was drawn from the early 20th century to the early 21st.
24 December 2023, 14:00 PM

Rokeya’s relevance to Palestinian feminism

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary (online), the first known use of the term ‘feminism’–
22 December 2023, 18:00 PM

Navigating the labyrinth of Bangladesh’s secular identity

The debate about the constitutional position of secularism in Bangladesh with Islam as the state religion raises one burning question, “Is the country undergoing an identity crisis?”
20 December 2023, 18:00 PM

Books that reinspire the creative spark

And on this day, when you are almost certain you will complete what you set out to do (hit your word count), you pick up that pen and flip open your notebook, and it hits you.
20 December 2023, 18:00 PM

Discovering something not-so new with ‘The Turtle of Oman’

The melancholic, tuned nostalgia of finishing a journey was being caressed by the soft yet upbeat rhythm of the journey coming forth.
17 December 2023, 15:55 PM

Human virtue questioned in the not-so-small things

At a time when everyone is grappling with financial instability while combating the icy spree, Bill is grateful enough to have survived another year with his wife Eileen and five daughters.
15 December 2023, 14:00 PM

On wars and words

These words are not just some veils adorning the valour and victory of our freedom fighters; they're not just tributes but testaments to the rare occasion of the oppressed overpowering the oppressor.
13 December 2023, 18:00 PM

Discussion on Munier Chowdhury held at Jahangirnagar University

In his discussion on Munier Chowdhury and his writings, Professor Mashrur Shahid Hossain hailed Munier Chowdhury as the “pioneer writer” of comparative literature in Bangladesh.
13 December 2023, 15:00 PM

The futuristic post-punk world of Izumi Suzuki

More than anything, Suzuki shows that the key to being an alien is not to be outlandish but to be sickeningly more human.
13 December 2023, 13:55 PM

Explosive speculative fiction in the latest issue of ‘Small World City’

What struck me the most about these stories is the firm, unflinching, and confident authorial voice sneaking up on and dictating the reader’s thoughts, orienting them to feel sympathy for the characters no matter how unlikeable they are.
11 December 2023, 13:55 PM

Is the whimsy in Zoya Akhtar’s ‘The Archies’ whimsical enough?

A rather random yet enjoyable song highlights how everything is political, from the lunch we eat to the way we dress for school.
10 December 2023, 15:55 PM

The wisdom of innocence

These stories, whether in books or movies, not only provide pearls of wisdom for young minds, but even subvert the preconceived notion that wisdom is cultivated with age
8 December 2023, 13:00 PM

Ink and memories: Revisiting the 'Anandamela' days

As a juvenile bibliophile, I used to see the copies as a delicate object greeting with utter care and affection.
7 December 2023, 13:55 PM

Celebrating Rokeya

Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880–1932) was exceptional in many different ways. Born on December 9, 1880, in a sleepy village in Rangpur, undivided Bengal, she died on the same day, 52 years later,
6 December 2023, 18:00 PM

Sultana’s Dream and the issue with feminist utopias

“They should not do anything, excuse me; they are fit for nothing.”
6 December 2023, 18:00 PM

Book remedies for children from the shelves of CholPori

Every recommendation on this list is specifically aimed at allaying the common psychological ailments of childhood.
6 December 2023, 14:10 PM