Poet Profile

Quamrul Hassan

Quamrul Hassan is a poet, journalist, translator and sportswriter. An ex-cadet of Faujdarhat Cadet College, he studied at the Department of English, University of Dhaka. Quamrul is a familiar name in the international haiku scene. His books Spring Moon (2011) and Hyaku Haiku (2016) have been both popular and critically acclaimed. Spring Moon is the first book of English haiku penned by a Bangladeshi.
Quamrul is the founder of Haiku Society of Bangladesh and his haiku have been published in The Asahi Shimbun, The Mainichi Daily News, World Haiku Review and the celebrated anthology of contemporary haiku Naad Anunaad.
Presently a Senior Sub-Editor at Bangladesh’s biggest newspaper Prothom Alo, Quamrul is also the founder of Baghinee, a platform dedicated to Bangladeshi sportswomen.

Books Published:

Spring Moon (2011); Hyaku Haiku, publ. Ananya, Dhaka, 2016.

spring moon
the sole witness of 
the stolen kiss

winter morning 
a slice of the sun 
on my blanket 

north wind―
fisherman struggles 
to light his cigarette

blood bank 
a hindu embraces 
a muslim

cricket fever
the ceo talks batting order
with the peon

pahela baishakh
even the grumpy landlord 
greets us

Credits:

"spring moon” – Honorable Mention: 9th World Haiku Festival, Bangalore 2008; “winter morning“ – Mainichi Daily News, 2009; “north wind“ – World Haiku Review, 2009; “blood bank“ – Honorable Mention: Croatian Institute of Blood Transfusion Haiku Contest 2016; “cricket fever“ – Naad Anunaad: An Anthology of Contemporary World Haiku, 2016; “pahela baishakh“* (Pahela Baishakh is the first day of the Bengali New Year) - Honorable Mention: Triveni, World Haiku Festival 2016, Pune.