Farida Majid

Farida Majid (27 July 1942 – 28 September 2021) was a Bangladeshi poet, translator, and academic.

Part of the first generation of Bangladeshi writers producing English-language work, Majid was an influential member of the London literary scene in the 1970s, when she ran the independent Salamander press. She then spent two decades as a professor of language and culture in New York before returning to Bangladesh in her later years.

Early life and education Farida Majid was born in 1942 in Kolkata, India. Her mother, Jochna, was the eldest daughter of the Bengali writer Golam Mostofa.

After completing grade school, she first attended Eden Mohila College, a women's college at the University of Dhaka, where she studied chemistry.

Career Majid is best known for her work as a poet, essayist, and translator.

A prolific poet, throughout her career she published both poetry and essays in various periodicals, but only published one book of her own writing, the poetry collection Ganda Phuler Proyan o Jara Benche Thakbe. She also translated from Arabic to Bengali, including parts of the Quran. She also edited a 1977 collection of English-language poems titled Thursday Evening Anthology. She also ran its eponymous literary magazine, which published essays, poetry, fiction, and works in translation. She moved to the United States, as she retained U.S. citizenship due to her previous marriage.

Activism Majid was active in anti-Pakistan protests in London during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. She was also involved with the Nirmul Committee, which sought justice for the violence committed against Bangladeshis during the war.

Later years and death After four decades abroad, Majid returned to Bangladesh in 2006. She died in September 2021, while undergoing cancer treatment in Dhaka. On her death, fellow poet Razu Alauddin described her as a writer and academic who was "way ahead of her time."