Shamsur
Rahman (1929 -) is indisputably the greatest living
poet of Bangladesh, with more than sixty books of
poetry to his credit. The renowned critic, Syed
Manzoorul Islam, speaks of Rahman as having
"produced a solid body of work which has permanently
changed the geography and the climate of Bengali
poetry.
He has
given it a new dimension and a meaning, he has
created an ethos which belongs indisputably to him.
He has given us a language, which we did not
have. |
Shamsur Rahman |
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It is true he has built
on the ground of the 30's poets, but he has developed
the ground, explored into areas they thought too
dark for exploration, has added new features to
it, landscaped it and in the process left his
footprints all over." The critic, Z. R. Siddiqui,
describes Shamsur Rahman as one who is "deeply
rooted in his own tradition." In his opinion,
Shamsur Rahman "still soaks the language
of our times, transcending the limits of geography.
In his range of sympathy, his catholicity, his
urgent and immediate relevance for us, Shamsur
Rahman is second to none."
Shamsur Rahman did his Honours in English literature
from Dhaka University. He had a long career as
a journalist and was the Editor of a national
daily, Dainik Bangla.
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Awards:
He has won numerous awards including:
- Bangla Academy Award (1969)
- Ekushey Padak (1977) and
- Swadhinata Award (1991)
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Shamsur
Rahman on his 75th Birthday |
The Library of Congress has in its collection
fifty titles by him, six translations of his poetry
and three edited works by him. |
