Kazi Nazrul Islam is a legendary poet in the modern literature of India in the twentieth century. Inspite of the fact that Rabindra Nath Tagore was active and alive, he became the most popular poet of Bengali of his time. Unfortunately, for those who are not able to read him in the original Bengali, his poetry in translation has not so far come through as innovative, intense and powerful as it is in the original. It has not been possible to fully understand the respect and popularity this maverick poet has enjoyed in Bengali, both in India and Bangladesh. It is in this context that a book exploring the tumultuous career of a poet as also the connection of poetry with history written by a Bangladeshi historian Professor Priti Kumar Mitra of Rajshahi University is a singular contribution.
October 2007, volume 31, No 10