Contributors:

Aeronwy Thomas (1943-2009), born in London, predominately brought up in Laugharne, South Wales, she is the daughter of Dylan and Caitlin Thomas. She is the author of many books, including Burning Bridges (Cross-Cultural Communications, 2008). In 2006, with Peter Thabit Jones, she featured in the first-ever Dylan Thomas Tribute Tour of America, organized by CCC.

Arbindu Chakroborty* is the editor of the little mag, maduli. He lives in Bhanga, Faridpur.

Bishnupada Ray is an Associate Professor of English at the University of North Bengal, India. His poems have appeared in Indian Literature, New Quest, Makata, A Hudson View, Tonight—An Anthology of World Love Poetry, Shabdaguchha and Revival. Three volumes of his poetry have been published by the Writers Workshop, Kolkata, India. He won a Pushcart Prize nomination in 2009.

Caroline Gill* lives with her archaeologist husband, David. She won the international Petra Kenney Poetry Competition (General Section) in 2007. Her poems have been published in the UK, Romania, USA, and India. Caroline’s first chapbook, with America’s John Dotson, is forthcoming from The Seventh Quarry Press and Cross-Cultural Communications. c.gill@davidgill.co.uk

Chanchal Mahmud* lives in Cyprus where he studies hotel management. His first book is scheduled to publish in February jointly with two of his friends.

David Gill* is a Reader in Mediterranean Archaeology at Swansea University. His poetry is inspired by his fieldwork. “From Syracuse to Manhattan” was published by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. d.w.j.gill@gmail.com

Ekok Soubir is a 7th grade student at the Scholars’ Academy in New York. He previously designed a few book covers and contributed his artwork and poetry to Asbestos and Shabdaguchha.

Hasan Sabbir* will publish is first book of poetry in 2012. He is a computer specialist who owns a family business. Mr. Sabbir lives in Magura.

Hassanal Abdullah teaches math at Washington Irving High School in NYC. He introduced Swatantra Sonnets (1998) and is the author of 21 books in various genres, also a 314-page epic. He edits Shabdaguchha, a bilingual international poetry journal, which is available in print and on the Internet.

Izfandior Arión* graduated from Dhaka University (2010) where he was a Microbiology major. He knows numerous languages and is the president of the Lekhok Shongo. He also contributed to Kalerkontho literary supplement.

Jean Salkilld* lives in Swansea. Her love of travel has provided a rich archive of ideas for her writing. She has regularly contributed poems to The Seventh Quarry magazine. Her first chapbook—with New York’s Sultan Catto—will appear in 2012 from The Seventh Quarry Press and Cross-Cultural Communications. jsalkilld@btinternet.com

Lynn Hopkins* was born in the Amman Valley, is bilingual, but loves to write in English. Despite many adversities in life, she is now enjoying a period of self-development. Her first book of poetry, Creatures of a Dead Community, was published by The Seventh Quarry Press in 2011. lynn.hopkins@tiscali.co.uk

Mahmoud Darwish* (1941 – 2008) was a Palestinian poet and author who won numerous awards for his literary contributions and was regarded as one of the finest contemporary world poets. Darwish published over thirty volumes of poetry and eight books of prose.

Matin Raihan is the author of three collections of poetry. He previously worked for the Daily Janakantha and now is a Bangla Academy Fellow.

Mohammed Ataur Rahman is the founder of the Bangla School in Bronx. He is the author of four books including Rubaiyat, which he translated from English to Bengali. His first book of poetry, Faguner Kachra, is going to be published in February, 2012. Mr. Rahman works for the NYC Dept of Education.

Naznin Seamon finished her BA (2008) and MA (2011) in English literature from Queens College of CUNY and now works as a High School ESL teacher. She is an author of 3 books including two collections of poetry and a collection of short story, and the recipient of the Shabdaguchha Poetry Award 2007 in postmodern Bengali Poetry.

Nirmal Gope* recently finished his Masters and now works as a banker. His first book is scheduled to published on February 2012, from Dhaka, jointly with two other friends.

Pallav Bandyopadhaya* is a Bengali poet from West Bengal, India.

Peter Thabit Jones is the author of ten books of poetry and a published verse drama. Editor and founder of The Seventh Quarry, he co-authored (with Aeronwy Thomas, Dylan Thomas’s daughter) the first-ever Dylan Thomas Walking Tour of Greenwich Village, New York, 2008, which is now a commercial tour run weekly by New York Fun Tours. thabitjones@btinternet.com

Prabir Das is the author of 15 books of verse including his Selected Poems(2011) published in cooperation with Shabdaguchha. He edits a Bengali quarterly, Ajker Kobita, form Shantinikatan. Mr. Das is the Shabdaguchha correspondent in India.

Rassel Ahmed is a student of Dhaka College. He is the nominee of the Shabdaguchha Poetry Award 2011. His first book is scheduled to publish in February, 2012 jointly with Nirmal Gope and Chanchal Mahmud.

Rizwanul Islam Rudra, poet and a young film maker, has contributed to literary supplements and magazines published from Dhaka and elsewhere in Bangladesh. He now lives in Australia.

Sabbyasachi Hazra is a poet from West Bengal, India.

Sonali Begum* graduated from Presidency College, Kolkata. She is the author of eight collections of poetry.

Stanley H. Barkan was New York City’s 1991 Poetry Teacher of the Year and the 1996 winner of the Poor Richard’s Award, “The Best of the Small Presses.” As publisher of Cross-Cultural Communications, now in its 40th anniversary year, he has produced some 400 titles in 50 different languages. His own work has been published in 15 collections, including Crossings, a bilingual (English-Russian) chapbook translated by Aleksey Dayen.

Subhas Robidas* is a poet and activist lives in Murshidabad, India.

Subir Sarkar is the author of 12 collections of poetry and the recipient of the Kobita Pakshik award. After finishing his MA, he also received a diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication. Mr. Sarkar is a teacher.

Syed Mohammad Masuk* (1939-2011) recently died in New York. In his youth he was befriended with Al Mahmud and Sakti Chattopadhay, two major Bengali Modern poets. But, he did not publish his own work much. He worked for the Ministry of Industry of Bangladesh as a Labor Inspector. The poem published here in this issue was selected before his sudden death of cancer.

Uday Shankar Durjay lives in London. He is the editor of a little mag, Spandan. He published three chap books jointly with his friends.

Urmila Chakraborty*, formerly a Professor of English literature in a university, has published seven collections of poems in Bengali and one novel in English.



*First appearance on Shabdaguchha