Star Literature
Interview / The old and new Bangladesh from the eyes of a historical fiction writer
When I first came across a review of Rahad Abir’s novel Bengal Hound in The Daily Star, I was intrigued by the storyline: A Dhaka University student in 1960s East Pakistan eloping with his love amidst political upheaval and protests that pave the way for independence.
Fiction / Ira in my town
After many years, Ira has returned to my town. She hops four towns to get here. We are supposed to meet today. I’ve been ready since morning. We will meet by the lakeside.
FICTION / The veil of shadow
He had consistently disregarded the villagers' accounts of bhoot-prets as local folklore. To him, they were just stories to scare the gullible
FICTION / Mother saves her corpses before lunch
Mother woke before sunrise with the weight of the house pulling at her bones and moved against the cold floor, the chill biting at her ankles. In the corner hung the gutted rabbit, its blood pooling on the floor. Her fingers trembled, as she bathed herself in it, coating her skin red.
FICTION / Bangali ghosts vie for the fishes
That night, the wind howled like the wolves as Shyam and Alameen rowed silently, their boat traversing through the misty air and the water rippling gently beneath them.
ESSAY / A surreal graphic novel by Subimal Misra
As I read Subimal Misra–I was therefore seized by the urge to bring out his stories, or "anti-stories", in graphic form
POETRY / October: An unfinished poem
Glamorous lightweight raindrops from the October sky keep
POETRY / Silence
A star fell on the ground in the windy night
INTERVIEW / Unconventional realities and intense friendships
Saikat Majumdar writes with a sharp poignancy that arrows straight to the core of the heart.
Sertraline is killing my poetry
At some point, it started turning into hyper-productivity, because more task completion meant more serotonin. My writing, on the other hand, shifted from my internal world to the problems of the external world.
Poets from Palestine: Verses written in tears and blood
Resistance takes many shapes and forms, from taking up arms, to facing police batons, to picking up a pen
Storm child
This is the third and final part of “Storm Child”, serialised here on Star Literature
Exiles and memories
Markan didn't have an answer. The word "Arakan" felt distant, like something from a dream he couldn't quite remember
Bangladesh’s writers on Wikipedia: Abbasuddin Ahmed and Humayun Kabir
If such writers lived in, and contributed to the literary legacy of, other countries, I will offer a compromise and propose a hyphenated identity.
Carpe diem
but i can't. i cannot be bothered to find / meaning behind the faults in my father's eyes
The tall and short of it
It feels like only two days ago that my dadu was still here, worrying I’d always be too short like her.