I am Erin Wilson, I’m a Teacher Librarian and have been living in Dhaka for three years now. The book world is happening! My first wow was at a book festival held at Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed Park in Dhaka, 2022. I saw so many picture books from Guba Books and of course bought them all to take home and read all the colorful pages and stories giddily. This is when I thought, I want to share what is happening here in Dhaka and of course, everyone needs to read these. 

My initial introduction to Bangladeshi literature were authors’ names like Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, and some books strewn about my school library. I was flooded with information but I decided after deeply listening to my Bangladeshi colleagues’ pride for their language and watching the multitude of festivals celebrated for their heritage, I needed to create a mirror of Bangladesh for our Bangladeshi student population and a window for our expat community. A section in the library is dedicated to growing Bangladeshi authors of local and diaspora origin, for all members of my school. 

Bangladesh has a long rich history in literature, however, my objective for this month is to share locally living Bangladeshi authors, with a few exceptions, as people do come and go in Dhaka, and books that have been written in the 2000s. This month isn’t just about the authors though, it is about the book shops, book markets, book festivals, publishers, book bloggers, etc. promoting and celebrating literature in Dhaka throughout the year. 

It is a joy to be able to share the unique world of the newest literature in Dhaka and Bangladesh. Each person who shares in this month, has a unique connection to the book or event they are writing about. I’m honored to be a part of this community and I hope GLLI readers receive the same joy in discovery I did and add a few books to your shelf. 

#BangladeshLitMonth

Erin Wilson currently works as a Teacher Librarian in Dhaka, Bangladesh and has worked internationally for 10 years in the following countries; China, India, and now Bangladesh. She has vast experience working in diverse cultures from Native American students to inner-city students and the international community. Her other passion lies in studying Asian dances. Currently she is focused on Odissi classical dance, and uses this dance vocabulary for storytelling in the library to actively engage children. It’s never boring in the library. 

You can follow the school where she works, International School Dhaka Instagram: @ isd_library

Opinions expressed in posts on this site are the individual author’s and are not indicative of the views of Global Literature in Libraries Initiative.