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

Lovers, liars and lurkers in the library

Hannah's protagonist Freddie is attempting to make progress on her novel by working at the Boston Public Library, when she—along with three of the people she is sharing a table with—are transfixed by the sound of a woman screaming somewhere in the Library.
14 June 2023, 12:55 PM

Yuval Noah Harari’s take on the history of humanity

About the history of the ancient people, Harari skilfully depicts the men and the women, nature, and the environment of prehistoric times, their patterns, and the characteristics of the rough life in the wild-mountainous region.
12 June 2023, 13:00 PM

Himal Fiction Fest to showcase the next era of South Asian storytelling

Over the two-week period, six original short stories by emerging South Asian writers will be published on Himal Southasia’s website
11 June 2023, 13:00 PM

Exploring nostalgia over coffee

Although the story doesn’t talk about how this particular cafe became a time-travelling spot to begin with, reading through to the last page made me feel that the café was always there-since the beginning of time.
9 June 2023, 13:00 PM

A personal quest to explore the core essence of ‘Bengaliness’

We Bengalis are very much part of a collectivist society, where ‘private’ matters are communal, and everyone can have some opinions about ‘other’s business. We describe that as our own unique way of looking after each other and maintaining ‘social well beings’.
8 June 2023, 07:24 AM

Professing criticism: On Naeem Mohaiemen's new book of essays

Although the book is written in English, he has plenty of doubt to dispense about the language, its usefulness, acceptance, and communicability when it comes to writing and creating art in Bangladesh.
8 June 2023, 06:59 AM

Shantona Shantuma: A pioneering manga artist duo in Bangladesh

The ambition was to popularise Bangladeshi manga. At first the initiative was voluntary but later they succeeded to commercialise the publication.
7 June 2023, 13:00 PM

UPL Summer Book Fair 2023 underway

Some of UPL’s best selling titles include 'Political Parties in India' (2022) by Abdul Razzaq and a Bangla translation of Yuval Noah Harari’s 'Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind' (2014).
4 June 2023, 15:00 PM

Snapshots of history—Golam Mustafa meets Manzoor Alam Beg

Modhurimay Alap (Swapno ‘71, 2023) transcribes two days of conversations with the late Golam Mustafa, first Director of Photography of Bangladesh Television.
3 June 2023, 07:58 AM

Like father, unlike son: Martin Amis’s place in literature

Perhaps Martin Amis’s works do not grab me for the most part because it veers too far away from the humanism of, say, Saul Bellow—a writer Martin greatly admires and has written about extensively.
3 June 2023, 07:39 AM

Racism and geopolitics in South Africa

Institutional racism in colonies, migration, flawed anti-monarchy sentiments stemming from personal vendettas, and the need for rebellion permeate the lives of these characters.
3 June 2023, 07:26 AM

The rebels of Madhusudan

Neeldhaja is the first Bangla poem to be written in the form of a letter; it places a female figure with a rebellious demeanor as the protagonist of a historical narrative.
2 June 2023, 13:00 PM

Everybody hates fantasy. Let’s talk about it.

Based on anecdotal evidence, complaints about the genre being “pure escapism”, “childish” and “uninteresting” are common. There are also reviews which accuse fantasy literature of being “formulaic”, “out of touch” and even “outdated”.
2 June 2023, 05:00 AM

Random House Canada accepting open submissions from underrepresented writers

Following submission, the editorial team will respond to writers they are interested within six months.
1 June 2023, 13:00 PM

A Rajshahi University scholar who has helped little magazines thrive

Four little magazines have been published under his editorship.
1 June 2023, 08:22 AM

5 "own voices" romance books that will warm your heart

The path towards truly diverse representation in literature necessitates that marginalised authors are given the chance to tell their own stories and shape our understanding of diverse experiences. 
31 May 2023, 14:51 PM

Bengal Institute to hold nonfiction writing workshop

Participants at the workshop will be introduced to a variety of texts and materials on these topics. It will focus on writing as both craft and concept, how to think about them to write about them.
30 May 2023, 13:05 PM

Commonwealth Short Story Prize ’23 regional winners announced

This year’s submissions included the first ever stories from Togo and Gabon, the newest members of the Commonwealth.
29 May 2023, 14:54 PM

The murky waters of using AI for writing

As AI evolves, it is crucial to establish ethical standards and regulations to address potential challenges.
29 May 2023, 13:00 PM

Z Library is back for public use

Late last year, on November 4, the domain names of Z-Library were seized by the US Department of Justice after Booktokers began sharing the link publicly.
27 May 2023, 10:49 AM