National

4-day int’l literary conference at Bangla Academy on Feb 1

Bangla Academy is organizing four-day `International Literary Conference 2017` on the academy premises from February 1.Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the literary conference along with month-long Ekushey book fair at a function on the day.Bangla Academy Director General Shamsuzzaman Khan told BSS that popular and reputed poets and writers from eight countries of the world will join the literary conference this year.The countries are Russia, China, Japan, Austria, Germany, Puerto Rico, Malaysia and India, he added.Khan said 15 poets and writers, including Shirshendu Mukherjee and Prof Pabitra Sarkar, will come from West Bengal of India.Others who are scheduled to join the conference include Mendred Kobo and Degmar Kobo from Austria, Inko Burghart and Torias Borghat from Germany, Maria De Los Angeles Kamako Nivas, Rafeyel Feguiro and Lus Maria Lopes from Puerto Rico, Dr Victor Alexandrovitch from Russia, Prof Dong U Chen and Young Uyi Min Swarna from China and Raja Lingom Ramasami from Malaysia.Besides, eminent poets and writers of Bangladesh will attend the literary conference, the Bangla Academy director general said.He said six poets and writers of Bangladesh would be given literary citations in this international literary conference. Their names would be made public through a press conference on Thursday, he added.After the inauguration of the conference on the first day, the second day`s programme will include giving literary citations, recitation of poems by foreign poets and discussions and a seminar to be presided over by literature Hassan Azizul Huq.The third day`s programme includes a seminar on literature with poet Asad Chowdhury in the chair. Another seminar will be held on essays with Prof Sirajul Islam Chowdhury presiding. Besides, there will be functions on research essays, Liberation War literature and the languages of small anthropological groups.The fourth or concluding day programmes will include three seminars and recitation of poems of 30 local and foreign poets in the evening.