
Jibanananda Das (1899-1954) is one of the most important poets of Bengal. Nevertheless, he remains a poet little known outside West Bengal and Bangladesh. Perhaps due to the absence of competent translations into English and other languages, Das achievement as a poet remains unrepresented in world literature. This selection of poems is designed to emphasize how Das's poems are great treasures of our literature through the medium of translation.
This is Asafuddowlah's first collection of poems in English language. His collections in Bengali including, Ruddo Rod, Patanger Slok, Shei Eaki Chand and Nishshabda Nirantar have established him as a major voice from Bangladesh. The subject of his poems reveals a poet familiar and comfortable with Sufi traditions. His poetry is short, supple and sinuous, forever eluding the reader between an inner meaning and a covert symbolic and mystical meaning. Asafuddowlah prefers to write short poems.