The Black Cat and Other Poems

Shahabuddin Nagari Twentieth Century's seventh decade was the matrix of productive literary activities in Bangladesh and to that effort Shahabuddin Nagari is a great contributor. Though as a man of myriad mind, Nagari traveled in varied field of literature with dexterity and ease, but his forte is poetry and rhyme. Poems are no longer products of only 'emotion recollected in tranquility' and Nagari's poems bear eloquent testimony to that. Some of his poems are melody at its best when others are just the opposite. When he finds things of his liking alluring and repellent, he revolts with words and his rebellion is translated in poems. Nagari at times is a rebel against much social and personal hypocrisy and give vent to his feelings in no unequivocal term. As a poet Shahabuddin Nagari's emotion erupt in his poems than in any other form of his writings. His books of poetry published over the years and held near the heart of readers bear testimony to this statement. Nagari's preeminent presence in the literary firmament of Bangladesh is well established and with the passage of time it has a solid niche. A reader of Nagari will be amazed to see the fields of diversity Nagari has traversed. He is a passionate lover and at the same time distraught at the slightest neglect of the lady he loves. Readers of his poems in this volume, The Black Cat and Other Poems, will get the taste of a poet who is a passionate lover. Nagari is major poet of the language in which he writes-Bangla, a vehicle of expression for fine qualities of life. His appearance in English will augur well for Bangla literature which enjoys a wide readership. Shahabuddin Nagari's entrance in world literature will be a commendable act.