DEH Students Represent ULAB at Gulshan Society Book Fair

The Gulshan Society Book Fair 3 took place from March 9 to 11 at Gulshan Society Lake Park, Gulshan 2. Organized by Shayaan Seraj, the Convener of Gulshan Society, the fair included book stalls by ULAB Press, The University Press Limited (UPL), Bookworm Bangladesh, Baatighar, Prothoma, Nymphea Publications, among others. 

On the second day of the event, readers were treated to short story, poetry and creative nonfiction readings by Tashfia Ahamed, Sumaya Mashrufa, and Kazi Mahdi Amin, regular contributors of Daily Star Books and Star Literature. The session was moderated by Sarah Anjum Bari, Books & Literary Editor of The Daily Star. 

This was followed by a session with Professor Shamsad Mortuza and Professor Kaiser Haq, Professors at the Department of English & Humanities (DEH) at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB), who discussed the journey of ULAB Press transitioning from Bengal Lights Books into the only academic press at a private university.

Afterwards, renowned author Sudeep Chakravarti hosted a conversation on Poetry in the Park with Professor Kaiser Haq and poet, writer, and Dhaka Lit Fest Co-Director and Producer Sadaf Saaz. Professor Haq recited his longest poem ever written, "The New Frontier", which deals with themes of climate change and its possible impacts on the Global South while Sadaf Saaz recited her poems about women's rights and the Rana Plaza incident. The session ended with Professor Haq's recitation of his poem "How Many Buddhas Can They Destroy", which was written after the 2012 Ramu communal violence. 

The highlight of the Book Fair was a discussion at 4 PM on Saturday, titled Institutionalization of Creative Writing: A Session with DEH Alumni and Students, that tackled issues related to the impacts of teaching creative writing in a classroom. Can creative writing be nurtured or shaped through institutional set ups? How can teachers contribute to developing new writers? Moderated by Sheikh Musharrat Jahan (Aanchal), a recent graduate of the MA in Literature and Creative Writing, ULAB, the session focused on these topics with students and alumni of Department of English and Humanities, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh. Other participants were Amreeta Lethe Chowdhury, Risalat Rahman Hridoy, Khadija Begum Atia, Maliha Huq, and Sejuti Islam Proma. The students were guided by Dr. Sohana Manzoor, Associate Professor, DEH.

A short video is available for viewing at https://youtu.be/WOgooBQIU7Q.