Ahsan Akbar

Ahsan Akbar (Bengali: আহসান আকবার) is an English poet and writer of Bangladeshi descent.

Ahsan Akbar
Native name
আহসান আকবার
BornLondon, England
OccupationPoet, writer
LanguageEnglish, Bengali
NationalityBritish
EducationEconomics
Alma materUniversity of Exeter
Years active2013–present
Website
www.ahsanakbar.com

Early life

Akbar was born in London[1] and subsequently grew up in Dhaka, Bangladesh, before moving back to the United Kingdom at the age of 16.[2] He studied economics at University of Exeter, and worked as a vinyl record seller, bookseller, and as an equities trader in the City of London and Southeast Asia.[1]

Akbar has described growing up in the 1980s as an experience with drawbacks. "There were few leisure activities," he says, "no bowling, nothing much on TV". With diversions largely absent, "things happened elsewhere" and his imagination took over.[2]

Career

In November 2013, Akbar's debut book, The Devil's Thumbprint was published,[2] it is a collection of poems which received critical acclaim since its publication. The book has been included in the English literature programme reading list at SOAS, University of London.[1]

Akbar is currently working on a novel, and has written for The Telegraph, Los Angeles Times, Wasafiri, Granta, Dhaka Tribune and other international publications.[1] His poem "Tree Without Roots" was selected to represent Dhaka in "Capitals", a poetry anthology representing all the capital cities of the world. The collection was published in Bloomsbury International in winter 2016.[1][3]

Akbar is a director of the Dhaka Literary Festival (previously known as the Hay Festival Dhaka).[4] He is a board member of Bengal Lights, a literary journal in English,[1] and a Governor of WMC Camden College.[5]

Akbar curated Bangladeshi writing, amongst other places, for Granta and Wasafiri.[1]

Books
Year Title Publisher ISBN
2013 The Devil's Thumbprint Bengal Lights Books 9-789849-073833

See also

References
  1. Karim, Mohammed Abdul; Karim, Shahadoth (November 2016). British Bangladeshi Who's Who (PDF). British Bangla Media Group. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 January 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  2. Eagle, Andrew (12 January 2014). "Discovering a Cold Climate Bengal". The Daily Star. Bangladesh. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  3. "Poetry anthology on capital cities edited by Indian poet-diplomat launched in London". Daily News and Analysis. India. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  4. Tran, Mark (17 November 2016). "Dhaka Lit Fest to elevate Bangla Literature towards greater heights". Dhaka: Dhaka Courier. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  5. "WMC". Camden College. Retrieved 10 October 2017.


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