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.
1 hour(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

How Caroline Kepnes has you rooting for a sociopath

I had heard about You from the moment I stepped into the world of bookstagramming. I’m ashamed to say, though, that I didn’t pick it up before watching the first season of the chilling yet hilarious (in my humble opinion) show, despite my friends raving about it.
3 November 2021, 18:00 PM

Mayurpankhi participates at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2021

Mayurpankhi, a children’s book publishing house based in Bangladesh, was invited as a guest this year at the Frankfurter Buchmesse (Frankfurt Book Fair), one of the largest and most important international events in the publishing industry. It serves as a place for thousands of publishing industry professionals to come together and share their ideas, negotiate international book rights, and discuss new trade innovations.
3 November 2021, 18:00 PM

An island of one’s own

When one begins reading Karen Jennings’ An Island (Picador India, 2021), one might find it hard to believe that an atmospheric novel with such fluid prose initially struggled to find a publisher.
3 November 2021, 18:00 PM

Revisiting 'The Bell Jar': a feminist masterpiece that reverberates through time

Vivid imagery and symbolism of deep human emotion are found throughout Plath’s novel, as the readers are allowed a look into the mind of a 19-year-old girl who is trapped in the kind of society where women are perceived only as objects of desire and vessels for procreation. 
3 November 2021, 11:41 AM

Young-adult mysteries to add to your reading list

Everyone, except Pippa, believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andie Bell, five years ago. Before he could be charged, Salil was found in the woods, apparently having committed suicide.
31 October 2021, 08:16 AM

From ‘Kabuliwala’ to the fall of Kabul

It is crucial for neighbouring countries and global citizens to think about what the issues prevailing in Afghanistan represent and how the crisis there can be dealt with effectively.
30 October 2021, 18:00 PM

ULAB hosts colloquium, “From Kabuliwala to the Fall of Kabul: Afghanistan in Popular Imagination”

The Department of English and Humanities, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) has organised a two-day International Virtual Colloquium on October 30 and 31 entitled “From ‘Kabuliwala’ to the Fall of Kabul: Afghanistan in Popular Imagination”.
30 October 2021, 11:08 AM

The Shelf: New in nonfiction this month

Amitav Ghosh traces back to the lineage of nutmegs originating in the Banda Islands to argue how colonisation deeply influences the geopolitics even in the contemporary world, a violent phenomenon that has led to natural disasters linked to climate change.
27 October 2021, 18:00 PM

In "Taxi Wallah", Numair Atif Chowdhury takes us, once more, through the cartography of a homeland

The version of Bangladesh we received in Babu Bangladesh (2019) was astonishing.
27 October 2021, 18:00 PM

Tanveer Anoy explores gender roles and identities in his second novel, ‘Duradhay’

Tanveer Anoy’s second novel, Duradhay (Anandam, 2021), felt like a punch to my stomach; a wake up call, to be more precise.
27 October 2021, 18:00 PM

Is book blogging in Bangladesh a privilege?

You walk into a room and come across stacks and stacks of books neatly arranged on shelves lining the walls, a couple of pristine white bedsheets, an intricate marble backdrop, and the smell of half a dozen candles blending together as your eyes are drawn to the centre of attention: glimmering, gold-foiled book covers. This is the commonly seen, romanticised setup for a book blogger’s photoshoot. Unfortunately, the real, behind-the-scenes process of blogging in Bangladesh can be quite different. 
24 October 2021, 13:36 PM

Ujan Book Review Contest 2021 announces winners, reviews Korean literature in translation

Participants reviewed Bangla translations of two significant works of Korean literature—Korear Kobita (Korean Poetry) translated by Chhanda Mahbub, and Korear Golpo (Short Stories of Korea), edited by Soroishwarja Muhommod. Both translations were published by Ujan Prakashan and assisted by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, who also helped organise the contest. 
19 October 2021, 09:05 AM

Breakthrough: A tale of love and prejudice

Suhail Aziz’s book, Breakthrough (Book Guild, 2020), is a memoir of a British Bengali and his intertwined personal story of love and prejudice. Aziz is best known within the UK Bengali community for his involvement with the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE).
17 October 2021, 05:46 AM

Books that changed the world: Gilgamesh through the sands of time

The epic antedates even the depiction of the famous Trojan war; it is, in effect, the oldest epic found till date.
13 October 2021, 18:00 PM

Is Bhashan Char really the answer to the Rohingya crisis?

Bhashan Char has lately become a topic of critical debate in the refugee relocation discourse. It is a reality that comes with a harsh reminder of demographic changes within the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar and the limits of a highly populated state in supporting an incredibly high number of foreign nationals living in its territory.
13 October 2021, 18:00 PM

Abdulrazak Gurnahs 'Afterlives': The repercussions of colonialism, unveiled

Abdulrazak Gurnah, this year’s Nobel laureate in literature, seems to come as an admirable choice compared to the Nobel Prize’s controversial recent history.
13 October 2021, 18:00 PM

Gyantaposh Abdur Razzak Foundation conducts session on Manosh Chowdhury’s unpublished research

The Unpublished PhD lecture series, organised by Gyantaposh Abdur Razzaq Foundation, resumed on October 12, 2021 at 7 pm over Zoom after a two year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In its eighth episode, researcher and professor of Anthropology at Jahangirnagar University, Manosh Chowdhury, gave an illuminating talk on his doctoral thesis: “Popularizing Project: Some Aspects of Production of Culture and Discourses in Bangladesh”.
13 October 2021, 07:36 AM

Sangat Bangladesh holds memorial for feminist author and activist Kamla Bhasin

Sangat Bangladesh, a South Asian feminist network founded by Kamla Bhasin, held an event in Dhanmondi’s Rabindra Sarobar on Saturday to commemorate the feminist author, poet, development worker, and educator who passed away last month. 
11 October 2021, 07:29 AM

WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY: Mental health issues in young-adult books

Young-adult books have recently been doing an exceptionally valuable job of incorporating mental health issues into their stories. Following is a list of books that represent various aspects of mental health issues and how people deal with them. 
10 October 2021, 16:37 PM

Discounts galore for Dhaka’s book lovers

In celebration of Independent Bookshop Day, Bookworm Bangladesh, located on the Old Airport Road, are offering a 25 percent discount on all imported books for customers personally visiting their shop and 20 percent off on online orders. The offer ends on October 9. 
9 October 2021, 07:54 AM