The Selected Poems of Buddhadeva Bose

Buddhadeva Bose (1907-74) is now being recognized as one of the most multitalented amongst the post-Tagore generation of Bengali writers. A versatile writer—comfortable in genres as diverse as poetry, novels, short stories, drama, essays, travelogues, and memoirs—he was also an influential editor and critic, a translator of poetry who had a profound impact on younger poets, a writer for children, and a pioneer in comparative literary studies. He set up the Department of Comparative Literature at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, and held visiting appointments at several American campuses. Bose came into prominence in the thirties, when he founded the poetry quarterly Kavita, which he edited for a quarter-century. Kavita became the leading Bengali poetry magazine of its time and was also an important vehicle for the discussion and review of poetry. Tied to the magazine was its own publishing house, Kavitabhavan (The house of poetry), both run from the poet’s home. The apartment in southern Calcutta where he lived and from which he carried on all his literary activities became an institution in the city’s arts world. His magazine and publishing outlet made Bose a central figure among the cluster of poets who came to embody Bengali modernism. He richly deserves to be known as a major poet of twentieth-century India. A substantial selection of Bose’s poems is presented here in English translation, with the necessary critical apparatus, by Ketaki Kushari Dyson, who is herself a well established bilingual poet. This volume is a must for libraries, academic institutions, and individuals interested in Indian literature in translation.