literature

Why we like dystopian novels so much

Dystopian novels aren't just a reflection of our current times, they are also vehicles to spread awareness.
20 October 2022, 00:00 AM

ULAB to hold Inter-University Student Conference from Thursday

In a break from last year’s partially virtual format, this year’s event will be held at ULAB’s Permanent Campus in Beribad and its Research Building in Dhanmondi, Dhaka.
19 October 2022, 09:44 AM

Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka wins Booker Prize 2022

The novel opens with a photographer, the eponymous Maali Almeida, who has woken up dead in a celestial visa office, while his body sinks in the Beira Lake in Colombo. Maali has seven moons to find the man and woman he loves and lead them to  "a hidden cache of photos that will rock Sri Lanka".
18 October 2022, 05:38 AM

Can we bring back Rupkothar Golpo?

Why we the wonderful, mythical world of Rupkothar Rajjo should be rejuvenated.
16 October 2022, 17:20 PM

A Transgenerational Quest for Identity in Tahmima Anam’s Bengal Trilogy

Tahmima Anam, the Bangladesh-born British writer, is known at home and abroad for her spontaneous and vivid writing style. She is widely distinguished as a novelist and columnist with a profound awareness of her native and international culture.
7 October 2022, 18:00 PM

On the chaos of teaching English

I discover that teaching is more about reading people.
5 October 2022, 12:18 PM

Fanfiction and the art of retelling stories

Fanfiction is just a devoted fan's mind asking, "What if?" 
4 October 2022, 08:30 AM

In the Morning

A fine good morning poem
4 October 2022, 02:58 AM

Redefining marketing strategies with booktok

Booktok is dictating how readers are exploring new titles. Is that a good thing?
2 October 2022, 15:15 PM

On Literary Matters: The Diversity of Writing

. In its fourth session of Literary Matters, the discussion focused on the diversity of writing. The guest speakers were Shagufta Sharmeen Tania, the acclaimed British-Bangladeshi writer and Rahad Abir, another up and coming writer currently residing in the US.
2 October 2022, 04:30 AM

Remembering Syed Shamsul Haq

On the occasion of the sixth death anniversary of Syed Shamsul Haq, Sabiha Huq writes on the versatile writer.
27 September 2022, 01:24 AM

Ritual

Morning sun, and its endearing ardor swathes my spent body, I awake a ghost.
16 September 2022, 18:00 PM

Home in the World: The Autobiography of a Well-Known Bengali

The dust jacket cover of Amartya Sen’s absorbing and remarkable memoir shows him as a young boy, with his sister and a cousin at home, looking out at the world. An apt cover image of a fittingly titled book about someone who would be always taking in the world as he went all over
16 September 2022, 18:00 PM

Female characters of Tagore: Symbols of empowered women

Rabindranath Tagore’s early writings (1881-1897) often focused on social injustice against women, female deities in his literature signified woman's inner strength. Tagore underscored that woman should never be passive, and he was very aware of women's social roles. Almost all of his female characters were plotted in traditional ways, but they were all quite strong. His women's liberation conquest was ahead of its time. As a result, one of his most significant contributions to society is the portrayal of women in his art.
14 August 2022, 09:11 AM

At the Blums’—A review of 'The Netanyahus' by Joshua Cohen

Cohen’s book confidently deals with the comedy of the Jewish family.
4 August 2022, 07:40 AM

‘Persuasion’, ‘Bridgerton’, ‘Emma.’ What’s missing from these quirky period dramas?

Studios seem to think female characters need to be glossed with a “zany” and “feisty” persona in order to be relevant. 
27 July 2022, 18:00 PM

Unconventional narrators dominate the 2022 Booker Prize longlist

Glory is narrated by a vivid chorus of animal voices, while Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies is partly told by the malevolent cancer travelling through the body of protagonist Lia.
27 July 2022, 12:10 PM

How it feels when you can’t finish reading a book

As I have grown older, my mind is calmer but it’s a void now, empty of any voice.
24 July 2022, 07:48 AM

Salman Rushdie named Companion of Honour for Queen Elizabeth’s Birthday Honours List

Indian-born British-American author Salman Rushdie has been named Companion of Honour, an exclusive club of 65 members honoured for their services to the arts, science, medicine, and government. Rushdie is leading the list for his longstanding services to literature.  
2 June 2022, 08:02 AM

Book Lovers: A relief in the barren wasteland of rom-coms

Book Lovers treads a fine line between subversion and indulgence of the tropes of small-town romance and enemies-to-lovers.
26 May 2022, 00:00 AM