Greek Poetry in Bengali – Rudra Kinshuk
The Bengali poet, critic, and translator Rudra Kinshuk was born in the village Samudragarh, West Bengal in 1971. He was graduated from the University of Calcutta and did his post-graduation from Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, West Bengal, and Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu.
He studied French from the French Institute of Chandannagar. He has done extensive research in contemporary Bangla novels in the light of Subaltern Studies. His thesis is titled, “A Cultural Study in Representation of the Subaltern in Select Contemporary Bangla Novels (1980-2010).” He also completed Translation studies at Rabindra Bharati University and awarded a Junior Fellowship in the field of Literature (1997-1999) by the Department of Culture (M.H.R.D), New Delhi.
During his post-graduation, Rudra Kinshuk studied Greek classical plays which enkindled in him a profound love for the Hellenic culture and thus he began to study the Greek language by himself.
Rudra Kinshuk has contributed poems and translations to different publications home and overseas. His English poetry has been anthologized in different publications of international repute. He has translated many Bengali poets into English and several ancient and modern Greek poets into Bengali. Speaking to INDIKA about his Greek translations, he said: “Though I have translated numerous Greek poets into Bengali, I had to depend on the English translations of those poems. I consider it to be a drawback. If I could better master the language, I could do my work more efficiently and authentically.”
Rudra Kinshuk’s works on Greek Poetry
- Prachin Greek Kabita: A collection of Greek ancient Lyrics translated into Bengali, Bhashalipi, Kolkata, 2008
- Sampratik Greek Kabita: A collection of Poems by Contemporary Greek Poets from Seferis to Dimitris Leontzakos translated into Bengali, Kabita Pakshik, Kolkata, 2012
- Athina Papadaki-r Kavita: A Collection of Athina Papadaki’s Poems,
translated into Bengali, Bhashalipi, Kolkata, 2018 - Aalogach: Selected Poems of Odysseus Elytis, Aloprithivi, Katwa (West
Bengal) (Forthcoming,2019) - Penelope-r Bishad: Selected poems of Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke,
Bhashalipi, Kolkata, (Forthcoming, 2020) - Modern Greek Poetry in Bengali, Tristoop Prakashani, Kolkata, 2020.
