Shah Tazrian Ashrafi

Featured in: Favicon

thehindu.com Favicon

thedailystar.net Favicon

dawn.com

thediplomat.com Favicon

scroll.in

dhakatribune.com Favicon

caravanmagazine.in Favicon

shethepeople.tv Favicon

realclearworld.com Favicon

himalmag.com + 1 more

Articles

Into the world of speculative fiction: An Interview with 'Small World City'

Sep 3, 2024 | thedailystar.net | Shah Tazrian Ashrafi

This past August, Dhaka's speculative fiction magazine Small World City enjoyed their first anniversary. The magazine, over this last year, has published some of the more striking works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry coming out of the country. Their latest issue, which was delayed in solidarity with July's quota reform protests, was released August 31, 2024, featuring celebrated writers as well as new ones.
FICTION: Searching for solace in unexpected places

May 18, 2024 | dawn.com | Shah Tazrian Ashrafi |Sara Danial |Ahmad Fraz Khan |Ahmed Bilal Mehboob

The Hippo Girl and Other StoriesBy Shah Tazrian AshrafiHachetteISBN: 978-9357313841192pp. In his debut collection, The Hippo Girl and Other Stories, Shah Tazrian Ashrafi offers an exploration of the Bangladeshi experience, navigating through war, the stagnant life of modern Dhaka, and challenges of the global Bangladeshi diaspora.
Inheritance of war

May 16, 2024 | frontline.thehindu.com | Shah Tazrian Ashrafi |Janhavi Acharekar |Anusua Mukherjee |Ravi Singh

Some of the finest literary works were born of conflict and war (which is to say that the human proclivity for violence ensures a steady supply of good literature). Fiction fuelled by the World Wars that have captured the imagination for generations is proof enough, while closer home, the haunting Partition stories of Manto remain unparalleled. And it is unsurprising that excellent new voices continue to emerge from the restive political landscape of the past decades.
A case for funding the Bangladeshi English-writing scene

Mar 27, 2024 | thedailystar.net | Shah Tazrian Ashrafi

If the country’s literary potential is not given generous support, we may never create favourable conditions for aspiring writers to devote time and energy to the art Monica Ali, Tahmima Anam, and Zia Haider Rahman have put Bangladesh on the "mainstream" literary map. By "mainstream", I refer to the publishing industries in the US and the UK.
A country coming to life

Mar 13, 2024 | thedailystar.net | Shah Tazrian Ashrafi

Review of ‘Bangladesh: A Literary Journey Through 50 Short Stories’ (Bee Books, 2023), edited by Rifat Munim Edited by Rifat Munim, the leafy, magical cover of Bangladesh: A Literary Journey Through 50 Short Stories reminds one of Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967).
These short stories set in Bangladesh explore what it is to be human in a violent, grieving world

Feb 29, 2024 | scroll.in | Shah Tazrian Ashrafi

Nobody knew what caused Lucky to behave the way she did. Had she come out of the womb too early? Had she fallen off the cot while her aunt was busy washing clothes? Had she bumped into walls a lot? Had she been possessed by a djinn? A long spell of typhoid? Jaundice? Pneumonia? The residents of Niribili scratched their heads but never found answers. They had given up long ago when they tried extracting details from Hamida – Lucky’s elder sister by three years – and even she turned out to be clueless.
What It Means To Be A Human In World Of Violence, New Book Explores

Feb 17, 2024 | shethepeople.tv | Shah Tazrian Ashrafi

Written in lucid prose and engulfed in intense emotions, The Hippo Girl and Other Stories is a searingly honest collection about what it is to be human in a world where rage, violence, grief, and obsession are part of everyday life.
Explosive speculative fiction in the latest issue of ‘Small World City’

Dec 11, 2023 | thedailystar.net | Shah Tazrian Ashrafi

REVIEW: LITERARY MAGAZINE What struck me the most about these stories is the firm, unflinching, and confident authorial voice sneaking up on and dictating the reader’s thoughts, orienting them to feel sympathy for the characters no matter how unlikeable they are Some of the best speculative fiction pieces I can never shake off my memory include: What It Means When A Man Falls From The Sky?
Joseph, our maths teacher

Jun 23, 2023 | himalmag.com | Shah Tazrian Ashrafi

He is dead. Joseph, our maths teacher. The news whizzed through our town’s TVs, newspapers and mouths all week long. In the markets, the tea stalls, the air-conditioned grocery stores, the dimly-lit cafes, the brothels above the photocopy and printing shops, the alleys where we played cricket and the alleys where others played football. Everywhere we went, it was all we could hear. That Joseph, our maths teacher, was dead.