Book Review: Nonfiction / The courage to speak: The life, ideas, and legacy of Ambassador M. Serajul Islam
25 August 2026
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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.”
Literary Curtains / Patriarchy inversed: Reimagining Rokeya’s Ladyland in 2026
23 August 2026
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Books & Literature
Book Review: Fiction / A novel of radical softness
20 August 2026
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Books & Literature
BOOK REVIEW: FICTION / Cooking up heat
20 August 2026
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Books & Literature
Event Report / In Transit: The Third Annual Slam Poetry at North South University
19 August 2026
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News
Essay / Poet Shamsur Rahman’s drama translation: Eugene O’Neill’s ‘Marco Millions’
15 August 2026
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Essay
Poetry / Coins in the wishing wells
15 August 2026
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Poetry
Poetry / Reminiscence of life
15 August 2026
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Poetry
News Report / P. Paramita’s ‘Appetite’ sells out on launch day at New York’s Strand Bookstore
13 August 2026
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News
Interview / In conversation with Sonia Bahl: Author of ‘Eighteen Inches Apart’
What becomes increasingly evident across Bahl’s three novels is her sustained fascination with the emotional significance of almosts and maybes.
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.
The shelf / 7 Asian healing fiction recommendations for rainy days
18 June 2026
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The Shelf
You know when the sky trades its brightness for a low, silver hue, and you wrap your fingers tightly around your tea, seeking that small, steady pulse of warmth. This is the essence of healing fiction. Often rooted in the Japanese concept of iyashikei, these stories focus on the quiet spirit through small, everyday moments. You may have already heard of Days at the Morisaki Bookshop or We’ll Prescribe You a Cat. While those popular favourites have opened a door for many, there are a few other tales worth the read.
Reflections / In the age of AI allegations
13 June 2026
Fiction / Body Selim
18 April 2026
Anyone can be a hero: Why I love ‘Percy Jackson & The Olympians’
From mental health struggles to characters with different racial and LGBTQ+ backgrounds, the series shines a light on people—and heroes—of diverse identities.
11 September 2022
In ‘Nehai’, Yusuf Muhammad’s doha verses explore the ceaselessness of life
The aim of a dohakar has always been to open the eyes of the masses. Many of the dohas written by the two prominent dohakars, Soroho-Pa and Kabir Das, have modernist, anti-establishment themes, criticising the social, political and religious conventions of their times.
11 September 2022
For fans of 'The God of Small Things', an Ammu-shaped hole in the universe
As a reader, this classic novel will always remain in my heart as a symbol of courage, love, loss and above all, a symbol of enchantment.
10 September 2022
Sonabhan Bibi
One year, a week before Eid-ul-Adha, my grandma, Dadi, came to Dhaka from the village and broke into tears. “What happened?” we asked.
9 September 2022
The (thrilling) Art of a Serious Literary Pursuit
This is about living in a twilight world of a romance with fiction as well as non-fiction. It’s a ménage à trois that I wouldn’t ever end.
9 September 2022
Economics, literature, history: Akbar Ali Khan in books
Dr Khan focused on Bangladesh’s historical roots as “the last major nation-state to proclaim its identity” —a country that changed its statehood twice in less than 25 years.
9 September 2022
First Slam Poetry Night event organised by SHOUT and DS Books
SHOUT and DS Books put on their first Slam Poetry Night.
8 September 2022
In the aftermath of the Palestinian catastrophe—'Minor Detail' by Adania Shibli (trans. Elisabeth Jaquette)
This book is an essential read to understand the extent of the erasure of Palestinian history after the Nakba and life under tyranny in its cities.
7 September 2022
A deep dive into a poet’s mind
He had lost touch almost completely with his craft, so much so that he wondered if he even had it in him. But even so, for the sake of writing, he wrote. When the pandemic hit, Helal batted off the dust of his desk and sat down to write. Sitting from a foreign land, the ink flowed again.
7 September 2022
Within the narrative folds of ‘Amar Dekha Rajnitir Ponchash Bochhor’ by Abul Mansur Ahmad
Amar Dekha Rajnitir Ponchash Bochhor unfolds a very complex process of how the people create cultures, how cultures create political orders, how orders lead to the formation of political parties, how these parties engage with political activities, and how this in turn shapes the central powers in a state.
7 September 2022
South Asia Speaks creative writing mentorship open for applications
The free, year-long fellowship for creative writers from South Asia, is accepting applications until September 30, 2022.
7 September 2022
Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2023 open for submissions
Free to enter and open to any citizen, aged 18 and over, of a Commonwealth country, the prize accepts short story entries written in English and translated to English, as well as stories written in Bangla, Chinese, French, Greek, Kiswahili, Malay, Portuguese, Samoan, Tamil and Turkish languages.
5 September 2022
The Day I die
Poignant lines on wishful death
5 September 2022
‘I enjoy being alone’: Helal Hafiz
Helal Hafiz has been suffering from glaucoma for a long time, alongside complications with his kidney, diabetes and nerve complications.
5 September 2022
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’—One series to fail them all?
What point is Lord of the Rings making in 2022? That people are racist and wage wars? The original trilogy, from two decades ago, was making that same point.
4 September 2022
An excerpt from “Relief Work” published in Food Conference
The entire country was submerged in water. The countryside was completely flooded. In some places the tinned roofs of houses or some bamboo poles rose out of the waters to announce the presence of human residence.
2 September 2022
Two Poems
If sunflowers shone in the sky
and clouds floated in lakes,
2 September 2022
Abul Mansur Ahmad (1898- 1979)
A politician and journalist by profession, Abul Mansur Ahmad began his career as a National Congress worker in Bengal.
2 September 2022
Why ‘Hawa’ reminded me of Coleridge’s ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’
The song “Shada Shada Kala Kala” seems almost like a visual rendition of “the merry minstrelsy” that breaks out in front of the bride as red as a rose.
2 September 2022
No country for honest men in Shahidul Zahir’s “Woodcutter and Crows”
Zahir uses crows as a symbol of magic realism, as found in local folklore, where animals serve as omens of luck both good and bad. The crows seem to bring bad luck to the couple, and wherever they go, the birds follow.
1 September 2022
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