Khondakar Ashraf Hossain Explained

Khondakar Ashraf Hossain
Birth Date:1950 1, df=yes
Birth Place:Joynagar, Jamalpur, Dhaka, East Bengal
Death Place:Dhaka, Bangladesh
Resting Place:Dhaka, Bangladesh
Nationality:Bangladeshi
Education:
Alma Mater:
Years Active:1980s-2012

Khondakar Ashraf Hossain (Bengali: খোন্দকার আশরাফ হোসেন; 4 January 1950 – 16 June 2013) was a leading postmodernist poet, essayist, translator, and editor from Bangladesh. He wrote more than eighteen titles.[1] [2]

Early life and education

Hossain was born on 4 January 1950 to a Bengali Muslim family of Khondakars in the village of Joynagar in Sarishabari, Jamalpur, then part of the Mymensingh District of East Bengal (now Bangladesh). He earned a BA degree in 1970, and an MA degree in 1971, both are in English and from the University of Dhaka. After he got MAs in linguistics and ELT from the University of Leeds in 1981. He also obtained a PhD in English from the University of Dhaka and a postgraduate diploma in Teaching English Overseas from the University of Leeds in 1980.[3] His doctoral thesis is entitled Modernism and Beyond: Western Influence on Bangladeshi Poetry, which he defended under Dr. Syed Manzoorul Islam, another doyen and celebrated writer in the department.

Professional and literary life

Hossain was a professor and chairman of the Department of English at the University of Dhaka.[4] In May 2013 he had been appointed as the third vice-chancellor of Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University at Trishal, Mymensingh, Bangladesh.[5] He was also a member of the Syndicate & Faculty Selection Committee of the BRAC University.[6]

In his decades-long teaching career, he was immensely popular among his students for his unique lectures delivered with ready wit and remarkable quips. He has published a number of collections of poetry and of essays in Bengali and English. About the readership of poetry, he says:

Hossain translates from Bengali to English and from German and English to Bengali. His poems have been translated into English, German, French, Telugu and Hindi.[7] Hossain edits and publishes a literary magazine: Ekobingsho (English: The Twenty-First)[8] [9] which was founded by Hossain himself in 1985 with its main focus on the new poetry of Bangladesh.

Theatrical work

Hossain patronized a drama group called Nagorik since the seventies, one of Bangladesh's leading theatrical groups, for which Hossein served as both president and dramatist.[10]

Critical reception

Hossain wrote a wide variety of poems in lucid language and with innovative and suggestive imagery.[11] Expressiveness and eloquence in his poetry came from his successful, spontaneous combination of national and world heritage and mythology with his personal experience and feelings.[12] Though he began to write when postmodernism was blooming fast in the west, he denies to identify himself as an avowed post-modernist.[13] In his book On Behula's Rafts launch ceremony, he said about himself that "my soul is nourished by the alluvial soil and the moistures of riverine Bangladesh, which is my Behula".[14] Fakrul Alam considered his poems "humorous and witty" in some cases.[14] Syed Manzoorul Islam opined that Hossain at his initial stage was a romantic poet, but is now a realistic poet, as he is writing in a very self-conscious way.[14] His love poems are characterised by stark realism rather than by romantic euphoria.[11] Anisuzzaman deemed his poetry as the socio-political representation of Bangladesh.[14] He explored not only the contemporary social and political condition of his country but also "the grounds of existential philosophy in conceiving human life as fragile yet undying, as self-destructive yet eternal".[11] Hossain's poetry is noted for its engagement with philosophical concerns. For having some drishtantoist poems, he would be important in Bengali poetry.[15]

Death

Hossain, died of a heart attack in Lab-aid hospital in Dhaka at 12 noon on 16 June 2013.[16] [17] [18] He was undergoing treatment at Labaid Specialized Hospital, Dhaka since 14 June due to health complications. He suffered a major heart attack at 8:30 am and died around 11:00 am on 16 June.[19] The ailing professor was being treated when he died at the age of 63.[20]

Awards and honours

Bibliography

Published books

Literary workNumber
Poetry9
Anthologies3
Prose1
Prose collection7
Translations10
Total29

Poetry

Anthologies

Prose

Collections of essays

Criritism

Translations

Editorial

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Ahmed, Mohiuddin . Six Seasons Review (vol. 2, Number 3&4) . 2002 . . 978-984-05-1652-0.
  2. News: Anti-India forces involved in mutiny: Bangladesh author . https://web.archive.org/web/20121025182549/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-03-14/south-asia/28048263_1_bloody-mutiny-saarc-liberation-movement . dead . 25 October 2012 . . 14 March 2009 . 4 January 2010.
  3. http://www.du.ac.bd/department/common/facultymemberdetail.php?memberid=FMENG73039&bodyid=ENG Khondakar Ashraf Hossain, Department of English, University of Dhaka
  4. Web site: Khondakar Ashraf Hossain . Foundationsaarcwriters.com . dead . https://archive.today/20130618031451/http://www.foundationsaarcwriters.com/literature/saarc-writers-intellectual/poets/bangladesh/257-khondakar-ashraf-hossain . 18 June 2013 . 17 June 2013.
  5. News: New VC at JKKNIU . The Independent . Dhaka . 7 May 2013 . dead . https://archive.today/20130620182302/http://theindependentbd.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=167870:new-vc-at-jkkniu&catid=95:national&Itemid=141 . 20 June 2013 . 16 May 2013.
  6. Web site: Professor Dr. Khondakar Ashraf Hossain . BRACU . 20 March 2016 . 8 March 2018.
  7. Web site: Khondakar Ashraf Hossain . The University Press Limited . 17 June 2013.
  8. Book: Arif, Hakim . 2012 . Poetry . http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Poetry . Islam . Sirajul . Sirajul Islam . Jamal . Ahmed A. . Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh . Second . Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  9. Web site: Ekobingsho . 21 March 2013 . Ekobingsho . 17 June 2013.
  10. https://archive.today/20130614222147/http://fr.slideshare.net/ReadulIslam/padma-meghna-jamuna 104. Padma Meghna Jamuna - 207 208 - PADMA MEGHNA
  11. News: A poetic soul nourished by geography . The Daily Star . 29 March 2008 . 11 April 2012.
  12. Book: Bangla Academy Dictionary of Writers . 2000 . . Dhaka . 984-07-4052-0 . 99 . Selina Hossain, Nurul Islam and Mobarak Hossain.
  13. News: Mukul . Akramuzzaman . Shoma . Nasima . 27 April 2012 . A Conversation with Poet Khondakar Ashraf Hossain . The Independent . Dhaka . https://web.archive.org/web/20120503054543/http://theindependentbd.com/weekly-independent/106737-a-conversation-with-poet-khondakar-ashraf-hossain.html . 3 May 2012 . 30 April 2012.
  14. News: On Behula's Raft launched . The Independent . Dhaka . 18 February 2008 . 11 April 2012.
  15. News: bn:খোন্দকার আশরাফ হোসেন একজন দর্শনসচেতন সাহিত্যিক . http://alokitobangla.com/opinion/1458-2013-06-17-17-07-42 . Alokito Bangla . 17 June 2013 . Opinion . bn.
  16. News: Zaynul Abedin . 8 March 2015 . Khondakar Ashraf Hossain . . Dhaka . 8 March 2018.
  17. News: Khondakar Ashraf no more . bdnews24.com . 4 January 1950 . 17 June 2013.
  18. News: Prof. Ashraf Hossain passes away . The Independent . Dhaka . 17 June 2013.
  19. News: Prof Khondakar Ashraf Hossain passes away . The Daily Star . 17 June 2013.
  20. News: Professor Khondakar Ashraf Hossain dies . Dhaka Tribune . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130626120245/http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2013/jun/16/professor-khondakar-ashraf-hossain-dies . 26 June 2013 . 17 June 2013.
  21. Web site: On Behula's Raft: Selected Poems . 2008 . uplbooks.com.bd . . 8 March 2018.
  22. Web site: http://www.porua.com.bd/books/রবীন্দ্রনাথ-ইয়েট্‌স-গীতাঞ্জালি . bn:রবীন্দ্রনাথ ইয়েট্‌স গীতাঞ্জালি . porua . bn . 8 March 2018 .
  23. Web site: http://www.porua.com.bd/books/বাঙালির-দ্বিধা-ও-রবীন্দ্রনাথ-এবং-বিবিধ-তত্ত্বতালাশ . bn:বাঙালির দ্বিধা ও রবীন্দ্রনাথ এবং বিবিধ তত্ত্বতালাশ . porua . bn . 8 March 2018 .
  24. News: 18 June 2015 . Khondakar Ashraf Hossain's 2nd death anniversary observed . . 8 March 2018.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Khondakar Ashraf Hossain".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.