Hay Festival Dhaka
Small Wonders
Writers Syed Manzoorul Islam (second from left), Prajwal Prajuly, Farah Ghuznavi and Aamer Hussein celebrate the beauty of the short story with Syed Badrul Ahsan (far left). The session launched Syed Manzoorul Islam's translated short story anthology The Merman's Prayer and Other Stories by The Daily Star Books. Photo: Prabir Das
One of my all-time favourite literary works is a short story by James Thurber called 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.' When I first read the story, I was captivated by Thurber's ability to encapsulate the fantasies and daydreams of a no-doer in a few pages. My notions of the novel being the more superior literary form went down the drain, as I began to appreciate the dexterity of short story writers who could weave tales in a relatively short space.
Noted academic and writer Syed Manzoorul Islam's collection of short stories 'The Merman's Prayer and Other Stories' was launched at a session titled 'Small is Beautiful' at the Hay Festival Dhaka in the presence of writer Farah Ghuznavi, Pakistani writer Aamer Hussein, Nepali-Indian author Prajwal Parajuly and Syed Badrul Ahsan, who moderated the session.
Explaining how short stories have always fascinated him, Syed Manzoorul Islam said that these stories reflect all aspects of life in a compact manner.
“You don't have the luxury of overstating your point or of overwriting. You have to be very precise and to the point. You have to be like a tightrope walker in order to engage readers,” he added.
This sentiment was echoed by Farah Ghuznavi who said that she loved the challenge of creating a set of characters that people care about. Along with other panellists, Ghuznavi agreed that writing a short story was a good way of learning how to use language with a degree of economy, as it doesn't allow for the extravagances and excesses of a novel.
Syed Manzoorul Islam's 'The Merman's Prayer and Other Stories' is available at The Daily Star Books for Tk 400. Farah Ghuznavi's anthology of short stories, 'Fragments of Riversong' is also available at The Daily Star Books at a special price of Tk 240.
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