Angshuman Kar
As Poet
Angshuman Kar was born in a small village called Beliatore in the Bankura district of West Bengal. This village is also the birthplace of the famous painter Jamini Roy.
Although Angshuman began his career as a short story writer, he came to be known in the realm of Bengali literature primarily as a poet. In his three decades of poetic practice, Angshuman has developed his own poetic language and created a distinct world of his own. Over time, his poetry has taken various turns—touching upon humour and satire, and at the same time, unveiling deep philosophical truths through striking and unexpected imagery. He has elevated the seemingly insignificant to the realm of the sublime. Angshuman has participated in several literary festivals held in the USA, UK, Germany, Bangladesh and India.
As an editor, Angshuman has also become a prominent figure in Bengali literature. For many years, he has been editing the poetry magazine Natmandir. Following the demise of Sunil Gangopadhyay, he served as a co-editor of the prestigious Krittibas magazine. He currently edits the literary magazine Gabhir Nirjan Pather Godya Podya Probondha and curates Poetry India: Contemporary Poetry in English and Translation, an adjunct of Ethos Literary Journal. He is also the editor of the Bengali section of Muse India.
Angshuman enjoys listening to music and watching cricket. Sometimes, he even joins his students on the green field, bat in hand, to play cricket.
As Academic
Angshuman completed his primary and secondary education in Beliatore. He then pursued his studies at Bankura Christian College and J.K. College in Purulia. He obtained his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from The University of Burdwan, where he is currently a professor of English literature.
As an Australia-India Council Fellow (2006) Angshuman pursued research on Aboriginal petitions in different universities in Australia. He was offered the Distinguished Visitorship by Australian National University, Canberra in 2020. He has presented papers/ chaired sessions in several national and international seminars/conferences in India and abroad including those held at Science Po, Paris, Oxford and Edinburgh. His essays have been published in prestigious journals such as Journal of South Asian Review, American Notes and Queries, Antipodes, Asiatic and Journal of Commonwealth Literature. He has also been published by Routledge, Bloomsbury and Anthem-Wimbledon.
Angshuman has completed a UGC-sponsored Major Research Project on Indian Diasporic Fiction and an Australia-India Council supported project designed for translating Australian Aboriginal poetry into Bengali. His current research areas are diaspora studies, partition studies, Australian studies and environmental humanities. Angshuman has successfully supervised 15 PhD and 21 MPhil theses.
Awards
Krittibas Puroskar 2007
Paschim Bangla Akdemi Puroskar 2009 (given by the Govt. of West Bengal)
Bangiya Sahitya Parishad Puroskar 2012
Mallicka Sengupta Pursokar 2014
Urahlpul Award 2015
Shakti Chattopadhyay Samman 2025
"I always feel that there are two selves within me–one that loves seclusion and the other that wants to come out of the cocoon of a secluded self and be one of the masses. I keep on oscillating between these two selves. It has happened that in the same day I wrote an intensely passionate poem about love in the morning and an overtly political protest poem in the evening."
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As an organiser
Under the aegis of his magazine, Godyopodyoprobondho, Angshuman organizes several poetry festivals throughout the year in various districts of West Bengal. These festivals play a vital role in identifying young poets writing in Bengali as well as senior but relatively lesser-known voices of Bengali poetry. Kar also curates a multilingual national poetry festival in Kolkata every year.