BOOK REVIEW: NONFICTION / A firebrand’s journey to Washington from Barisal

“Agunmukha” translates to “fire-mouth” in English. The word mirrors the tumultuous life of Noorjahan Bose, shaped by her early years in cyclone- and flood-prone small towns of Barisal; her experience of sexual violence at the age of 10; the loss of Imamuddin, her first love and husband, to smallpox; single motherhood; and her later marriage to Swadesh Bose, a Hindu man—an interfaith union opposed by society.
15 MIN(s) ago 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

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 / “Words are, to me, a way of understanding truth”: An hour of history and poetry at ULAB
Students at the University of Liberal Arts, Bangladesh (ULAB) crowded into a packed classroom on a winter morning on Sunday, November 30, awaiting the start of a program that would be part interview, part poetry reading. “Meet the Poet: Shaheen Dil—In Conversation with Dr Mushira Habib” organised by the Department of English and Humanities was an hour-long dive into the life and work of poet Dr Shaheen Dil, a Bangladeshi writer and retired academic, banker, and consultant living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
5 December 2025, 13:50 PM 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

Pashe Achi Initiative distributes books in exchange for plastic waste

In the latest initiative of Gronthomongol, a project aimed at rescuing the Nilkhet book market from the economic blows brought by the pandemic, youth organisation Pashe Achi Initiative are distributing books among readers in exchange for plastic waste.
11 December 2021, 08:32 AM

The comfort of books amidst wedding lights

It is December again and as evenings set in, Dhaka becomes brighter than it has been in the past few months.
8 December 2021, 18:00 PM

‘Potrika Porbo’ magazine fair underway at Bengal Boi

Bengal Boi is hosting a magazine fair, ‘Potrika Porbo’, at their premises in Dhanmondi until Saturday, December 4.
2 December 2021, 13:55 PM

Dark Academia: Why we love it and what needs to change

Dusty libraries, tweed blazers, candles, classics, coffee pots and armchairs: these are some of the basic elements of a social media aesthetic when one is into Dark Academia.
1 December 2021, 18:00 PM

In 'Thug', Mike Dash myth-busts British India’s cult of stranglers

It is nearly impossible to know nothing about British India’s infamous cult that systematically killed and robbed Indian travelers for hundreds of years. However, almost every write-up available today is an exaggerated horror story that fails to reflect upon the real events.
1 December 2021, 18:00 PM

Manoranjan Byapari's 'Imaan': Between the familiar and the alien

Through Imaan's interactions with the world outside of the central jail in Kolkata, we meet rickshaw pullers, street hawkers, and tea-stall owners, who belong mostly to the lowest strata of the society and come from highly marginalised caste and economic backgrounds.
1 December 2021, 18:00 PM

Gyantapas Abdur Razzaq Foundation hosts discussion on freedom fighters of Dhaka

On November 27, Saturday at 7 PM, Gyantapas Abdur Razzaq Foundation hosted its fifth episode of their discussion series,‘Bidyapeeth Baithaki: Antaranga Alape Gunizan, online’. The topic of this week’s episode was ‘Crack Platoon: The Freedom Fighters of Dhaka’.
30 November 2021, 06:52 AM

Han Kang's 'The Vegetarian': Surrealism and suffering in South Korea

Han Kang’s atmospheric novel, The Vegetarian (Portobello, 2016), is an evocative look at the psychosis of a woman plagued by her own humanity. In a masterstroke,
24 November 2021, 18:00 PM

Staff picks for Nonfiction November

Cleghorn pairs her personal experiences and traces through history how women's bodies have been taught to be hidden and shamed, instead of being taken as what it is—a biological entity.
24 November 2021, 18:00 PM

IN MEMORY OF HASAN AZIZUL HAQUE: Two tales of violence from the hands of a master

Hasan Azizul Haque, who passed away on November 15, 2021, began his career with the publication of the short story “Shokun” in 1960, and since its publication till today, it has shocked and stupefied most readers who have found their way to this unique and masterfully crafted story—reading it is not an experience one forgets easily, or ever.
24 November 2021, 18:00 PM

Ekushey Boi Mela plans for 2022

After the low turnout at Amar Ekushey Boi Mela this year, the Academic and Creative Publishers Association of Bangladesh hosted a discussion seminar on November 16, with notable authors, publishers, and media personalities as special guests, in order to ensure a smooth experience for all attendees in the coming year.
18 November 2021, 10:47 AM

Syed Abul Fatah Sharfuddin Sharaf Al Hussaini: A forgotten poet

The first traceable progeny of the lineage, Syed Fida Hussain, had settled in Delhi during the reign of the fourth Mughal Emperor, Jahangir, with his son, Syed Golam Hussain and his grandsons, Syed Faizuddin Hussain and Syed Mozaffar Hussain; they eventually moved to Kolkata and finally settled down in Dhaka.
18 November 2021, 07:31 AM

Brandon Taylor’s ‘Real Life’—It’s seldom fair.

Brandon Taylor’s Real Life (Riverhead Books, 2020) begins with the protagonist, Wallace, contemplating his father’s death and feeling lonely amongst his friends because they do not understand the experiences he has had. The novel’s exploration of “real life” over the course of a weekend is also one that unpacks identity, race, sexuality, and the sheer boredom and frustration of postgraduate life. 
18 November 2021, 07:16 AM

Why Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams” is a perfect way to start the season

Three days ago when I woke up in the morning to get ready for work, I stood on my balcony and felt a slight, familiar nip in the air.
17 November 2021, 18:00 PM

High Commission of India launches Bangla edition of book, 'Operation X'

On November 8, the High Commission of India hosted a book launching ceremony wherein the Bangla version of Operation X (HarperCollins Publishers India, 2019) was unveiled.
13 November 2021, 09:11 AM

Ujan hosts award-giving ceremony for book review contest on Korean Literature

Bangladeshi publishing house Ujan Prokashan organised a book review contest where participants had to review Korean Literature on Monday, November 8.
13 November 2021, 08:59 AM

Killing the false woman: ‘The Harpy’ dissects parenthood, femininity, and domestic abuse

A book’s epigraph usually either leaves you droplets of hints of what’s to come or purposefully perplexes, with abstract quotes that leave you feeling rather than knowing.
10 November 2021, 18:00 PM

Elif Shafak's 'Black Milk': Can a writer be a mother too?

Black Milk is an autobiographical documentation of Shafak's hesitation, anxiety, perplexity, and self-discovery as she is about to enter the phase of motherhood.
10 November 2021, 18:00 PM

Some gold, some lemonade, and a whole lot of ambition—the recipe for immigrant success in Sanjena Sathian's 'Gold Diggers'

Sanjena Sathian’s debut novel, Gold Diggers (Penguin Press, 2021), is set in an Indian American enclave within suburban Atlanta, a pressure-
10 November 2021, 18:00 PM

South-African author Damon Galgut wins 2021 Booker Prize for his novel, "The Promise"

The South-African novelist and playwright had been previously shortlisted for his books, The Good Doctor (2003) and In A Strange Room (2010) in their respective years, the former of which received the Commonwealth Writers Prize.
3 November 2021, 18:00 PM