Literature and Fiction

This issue constitutes Volume 2 of Six Seasons Review (Numbers 1&2), the only English-language periodical published from Bangladesh devoted exclusively to arts and letters. The response to our first two numbers have been heartening, for many people have told us that they liked the format and the content. But we would like to receive more fiction, poetry, non-fiction prose essays, literary essays/book reviews from our readers (as well as praise). In particular, we look forward to receiving submissions for our fourth issue, which is a special number on Dhaka.

Twenty-seven essays drawn from a variety of context of the cultural life of Bangladesh make this volume a unique presentation from the country's most respected octogenarian literary giant. The essays offer not only an introduction to some of the most important cultural issues Bangladesh faces at the turn of the twenty-first century but in fact represent the intellectual concerns of the time. The reader will find illuminating treatment of such issues as the complexity and multidimensionality of culture, civil society and fundamentalism.

This collection of essays by Mohammad Badrul Ahsan is the second compilation of Crosstalk, the column he writes for The Daily Star. These columns were written mostly between 2005 and 2007 on a wide range of subjects with a particular focus on the recent political convulsions in Bangladesh. In some of his essays, he comes eerily close to truth, analyzes the facts with a discerning mind and presents his thoughts in convincing and elegant prose that is recognized by the readers as his signature style. Honore de Balzac writes that a writer is like a galley slave to ink and pen.

Since the 1930's critics and scholars began to take increasingly a new interest in Dickens both as a man and a writer. Facets of his personality, hitherto unknown, were discovered and they shed new light on his writings. Dickens began to be regarded not merely as a humorous writer but a serious artist, deeply preoccupied with the essential issues of life. In course of time, Dickens attracted so much interest from critics and scholars that innumerable number of books, essays and biographies were turned out every year. Soon people began to speak of the Dickens boom or Dickens industry.