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Shah Tazrian Ashrafi

Into the world of speculative fiction: An Interview with 'Small World City'

This past August, Dhaka’s speculative fiction magazine 'Small World City' enjoyed their first anniversary. The magazine, over this last year, has published some of the more striking works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry coming out of the country
3 September 2024, 14:30 PM

A case for funding the Bangladeshi English-writing scene

If the country’s literary potential is not given generous support, we may never create favourable conditions for aspiring writers to devote time and energy to the art
27 March 2024, 14:00 PM

A country coming to life

Weaving the grand themes of politics and history, the book is a revelation into how the ordinary lives within a country are buffeted by constant changes.
13 March 2024, 13:45 PM

Explosive speculative fiction in the latest issue of ‘Small World City’

What struck me the most about these stories is the firm, unflinching, and confident authorial voice sneaking up on and dictating the reader’s thoughts, orienting them to feel sympathy for the characters no matter how unlikeable they are.
11 December 2023, 13:55 PM

4 fully funded Creative Writing MFA programs in the US worth exploring

While Canada, and now some programs in the UK, have also started offering the degree, it is in the United States that it is most common and rigorous.
2 April 2023, 12:45 PM

6 UK small presses that consider unsolicited submissions

This means you can submit a manuscript on your own, without a literary agent.
24 February 2023, 04:00 AM

A fellowship of humanity and the wild

Martell’s narrative journalism is a lesson for those in the field as to how a writer can instil empathy for the others around. The reader can taste affection for both the animals and humans in his storytelling.
22 February 2023, 18:54 PM

Local publishers, sales, and the 2023 Dhaka Lit Fest

This year a ticketing system was imposed. As such, sales were lower than expected.
12 January 2023, 11:50 AM

Superpowers every school kid needs

Imagine how comfortable it would be to possess some divine powers that hold you tight with the assurance of school hours being bearable for you. You could resort to them at your own urgency (or pleasure) and bask in the blessings they are meant to bring.
29 August 2018, 18:00 PM

If we romanticised sunny days like rainy ones

It's been months since the sun peeked from behind the clouds, clearing the gloominess that clung to the atmosphere and sucking up the tea puddles from the roads.
8 August 2018, 18:00 PM

A dog sees Dhaka

This city can be cruel. I have been kicked and pushed away. I have seen worse being done to my brethren. In spite of all this, this city has become my home.
1 August 2018, 18:00 PM

Struggles you face at swimming lessons

While swimming can get you ashore and save your life when that boat sinks, it does not come to you automatically. Many people get to learn swimming by floating with coconuts or whatever at their home village, or maybe by enrolling into a professional course at a certified swimming pool establishment. If it's the latter, here are some struggles you are likely to face (or have faced) after joining the classes.
25 July 2018, 18:00 PM

Downsides of one (almost) successful robbery

The Primetime Emmy Award nominee Christina Hendricks has that unique charm of confusing anyone in Good Girls. You never know when she is joking and when her head is steaming.
18 July 2018, 18:00 PM

Water for birds

Most months in the city were hot. One competed with another. As though they were trying to see which one of them sizzled more.
18 July 2018, 18:00 PM

Getting into the habit of writing

Whether it's about getting into your favourite publication or being admired for creatively expressing your thoughts, the habit of writing surely invites good things. Once you have developed the habit, it can be a gateway from the loudness around you while being added as a new skill to your cart. Developing the habit, however,
27 June 2018, 18:00 PM

A wrong choice and its aftermath

I picked up this book on a whim. Maybe it was the easy-to-hold feel of it. Or maybe it was the golden sticker adorning the names of the prizes it has amassed that floated on the water hyacinth covered pond. Whatever the reason, it sure didn't disappointed me.
27 June 2018, 18:00 PM

The wows and woes of babysitting

After you are assigned the responsibility of taking care of a baby, the good and bad sides of the task start to unroll. Like a rollercoaster ride, it has its highs and lows.
27 June 2018, 18:00 PM

Interpreting popular music videos

A woman raps fiercely using slangs as though they are very typical in hip hop music. She flaunts her designer shoes, accessories, exotic cars, and even poses beside a tied leopard. She is overwhelmed with her success and that's why finds it necessary to rap about it. People have been commenting crazy stuff in the comments section. For example, “This song makes me want to fight the water in the shower”.
20 June 2018, 18:00 PM

Which Iftar item are you?

Instead of finding out what kind of natural disaster you are, take this quiz, which is more appropriate for the season.
6 June 2018, 18:00 PM

A novel set on the brink of insurgency

The hardcover is clothed with a blue dust jacket with an illustration of two egrets flying among clouds and above the title. The clouds, I believe, represent Kalimpong, where the novel is set and the story unrolls along its winding roads. Sometimes it leaps over continents and focuses on another character living an immigrant life in New York City. Sometimes, it travels to the past, shedding light on history.
23 May 2018, 18:00 PM

Anjum Surfers & Co.

They thought she was possessed by her son's ghost. The sand coloured saree that she wore far too often, and her curly, greyed, short hair added to this belief of theirs that settled as sediment in their hearts.
16 May 2018, 18:00 PM

Struggles of being a quiet person

While being a quiet person is appreciated, it does not always invite good things. Here are some struggles you can relate to only if you're more of an observer than a speaker.
9 May 2018, 18:00 PM

Rainy day musing

I am standing on the edge of the window as usual. It is the only humongous window without any grillwork in the house. The sunlight always falls on me without any shape, with its arms and legs stretched out. As of now, the sun is not visible. The clouds are guarding the sky, grumbling with unequal intervals. Some are static, some are floating slowly but surely, like ghost ships. I want to be up there among the grey explosions bleeding into each other for as long as they are there. I want to ride one of the clouds, and lose my direction marvelling over the cityscape.
25 April 2018, 18:00 PM

One heirloom, many wolves

There are books that you read just for the sake of reading. There are books that make you skip a bundle of pages to avoid the dullness. And then there are books that don't allow you to skip even a single page. Rich People Problems is one such book.
11 April 2018, 18:00 PM

The Plastic Whale

Swimming in water bodies abloom with plastic was very common for Subhash and his father. They depended on any salvage they could find from the plastic controlled territories on the island they lived in. The plastic materials were everywhere—in the ponds, in the forests, on the roads, on the puddles, in places where they shouldn't be. It was as though they were manmade creatures walking all over the earth and ultimately settling where they find it comfortable to create a colony of their own. They came in various shapes and sizes. Though diverse, they all existed for the same purpose.
11 April 2018, 18:00 PM

Life is hard when you're sleepy all the time

The Dalai Lama once said, “Sleep is the best meditation.” Of course, his words are true and so is my dedication to this natural human need. I am sure I am not the only one who loves sleep more than anything else. Here are the struggles you can relate to if you have a strong bond with your bed.
28 March 2018, 18:00 PM

Skull among Bricks− a Grey Frame

Right now, I am all blue. I was supposed to have my feet on the ground, and study for my upcoming exam–which is in two days.
23 March 2018, 18:00 PM

Streamlined Note-taking

Managing physical notes is tough at times as there are many chances of losing them or not being able to access them immediately when necessary. If you're someone who finds it difficult to keep track of notes, then Evernote is for you.
14 March 2018, 18:00 PM

Pagination

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