Book Review: Nonfiction / The courage to speak: The life, ideas, and legacy of Ambassador M. Serajul Islam

25 August 2026 Reviews
Ambassador Islam passionately believed that a nation of 180 million people should chart its own path, maintaining good but never subservient relationships with global powers. He was acutely aware of “our traits as a nation” but remained firm in his belief that the country could only thrive under Lincoln's doctrine of government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
News Report / Kazuo Ishiguro set to return with new novel in 2027
20 June 2026
Ishiguro’s novels have, over his 40-plus-year career, ranged from historical fiction to fantasy to science fiction.
Event Report / Dhaka Zine Mela 2026: A celebration of creativity and community
11 June 2026
On June 6 and 7, 2026, at Goethe-Institut, Dhanmondi, Zine Mela Dhaka 2026 was held, organised by Sister Library (Dhaka) and Colors Publishing. The two-day event brought together independent artists, writers, and creators to celebrate self-publishing, artistic expression, and community engagement.

Why I learned more from reading fiction books than nonfiction

It is deeply saddening that this discouragement to read fiction is coming at a time when we as a population are suffering from a crisis in empathy.
23 August 2023

Oak cognacs

From moon beamed mountains  To plains deltaic; In Diasporas–detached 
21 August 2023

The howling pack of dogs

This poem has been translated by the author from Zahir Raihan’s poem, ‘Kotogulo Kukurer Artonad’ on account of the novelist, writer and filmmaker’s birth anniversary.
19 August 2023

Applications for the next session of Write Beyond Borders are now open

The lineup of mentors includes a range of writers from South Asia, currently based in and publishing from all over the globe.
19 August 2023

Anjuman and the stories of the mango people

My father’s ancestors were Ayurvedic medicine men from a remote corner of the North Bengal. A few generations ago, one of them had cured a long-lasting ailment of the Raja of Taherpur and had received, as a reward, a large chunk of agricultural land or “joat” next to the mighty Joshoi Beel.
18 August 2023

Unravelling Bangali feminism and female rage

Feminism and literature share a profound connection as literature gives voice to the experiences of women, allowing us to understand their perspective. However, despite the abundance of information in the technological age, the promotion of feminist books remains a challenge in Bangladesh, often facing criticism from conservatives.
18 August 2023

Discussion on power inequalities

As the guests arrived, the room brightened up and a conversation began that would eventually go on to deeply invest in exploring the nature of power and of defiantly opposing the status quo.
18 August 2023

On moving

Reading moves you. The movement is emotional—you feel moved as you read, you feel moved by what you read. To read is to be moved—by the sheer joy and ecstasy on the pages, by the pain and heartache in the letters,
16 August 2023

Memory is a treacherous and wonderful thing

Around 14 years ago, I left my life behind in Nigeria. After almost half a decade spent in a land far from home, leaving felt crushing.
16 August 2023

Stories that move you

In keeping with the spirit of Partition of 1947, we have compiled a list of stories that deal with movements and migrations,
16 August 2023

Diphylleia grayi

The burst of fragrant marigolds on the blanched porch of our old Calcutta home, free like sand, unbridled like the wind
16 August 2023

In some corner of a foreign field: Rahmat Ali & the once and future Cambridge Majlis

The map is part of an exhibition arranged to mark the revival of the Cambridge Majlis, a society (dating from 1891) designed for students from all over the Subcontinent to meet socially to enjoy their commonalities and discuss and debate in a civil way their political differences.
15 August 2023

The poet who shook the Ershad regime

As he had actively protested against Ayub's dictatorship, and was indeed jailed, he felt compelled to protest against Ershad's dictatorship through his poetry.
12 August 2023

Ameena goes to America

A young white officer asks her in heavily accented Bangla, “What’s the purpose of your visit?”
11 August 2023

Partition and Bangladeshi literature

Their apartment was located on the ground floor of a three-storied building whose yellowish paint looked as if it was peeling off on its own.
11 August 2023

‘In Extreme Need of Guidance’: Afterword

'In Extreme Need of Guidance', the book being serialised here, captures the first 16 years of writer Sultana Nahar's life. This is the Afterword by the author.
11 August 2023

Sports journalism and Bangladesh

Textbooks in Bangladesh tend to be written by foreign authors. Those that are written by Bangladeshi authors, emphasise on examples in a non-Bangladesh context.
9 August 2023

The straight and narrow vision of ‘Crook Manifesto’

Colson Whitehead’s sequel to his novel Harlem Shuffle (Doubleday, 2021) is a continuation of the exact same order.
9 August 2023

‘Bare life’ and Partition

“Can one break a country...Will the earth bleed?” asks eight-year-old Lenny in Bapsi Sidhwa’s Cracking India (1988)–a tale about Partition. “No one’s going to break India. It’s not made of glass!”
9 August 2023

7 minutes to midnight

In exchange for the presidential suites at the Ritz and so on, the men holding our city keys have already opened our skies to all that may come.
9 August 2023
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