Poetry books dominate Ekushey Book Fair

Poetry books are dominating the book fair as 45 new titles hit the month-long Amar Ekushey Book Fair till February 3, reports UNB.

Visiting the fair and talking to the publishers on Saturday, it was found that poetry books outnumbered novels, short-story and essay books but sale proceeds are still very low.

They said readers are interested in buying novel and fiction books. There is not much interest in poetry.

A total of 174 titles were published till the third day of the fair including the new titles on poetry. Some 19 and 26 books on poetry hit on the second day and third day of the fair respectively.

Tamal Ahmed, salesman of Somoy Publication said "The sale of poetry books is very low. If other books are sold 100 in number, we may expect selling one poetry book only. Humayun Ahmed, and science fiction writer Muhammad Zafar Iqbal remain readers' favourite."

The third day of the fair was opened from 11 am as it was public holiday and ended at 9 pm.

The Shishu Prohor (special time schedule for the children) was celebrated on Friday and Saturday from 11 am to 1pm.

A discussion on Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah Khan was held at Bangla Academy at 4 pm on Saturday with Monirul Islam, Sardar Abdul Mannan participating as the discussants and Shafiul Alam presenting the keynote speech.

Kazi Rafiqul Islam presided over the session while a cultural programme was held on the main stage.

There will be a seminar at the main stage of the fair at 4pm every day followed by cultural events.

Like the previous years, the venue of the fair has been extended to nearby Suhrawardy Udyan with some changes.

The authorities have allotted a total of 719 units - 136 at the Bangla Academy ground to 92 organisatons and 583 at the Suhrawardy Udyan to 363 organisations.

Last year, the authorities allotted a total of 663 units - 114 at the Bangla Academy ground to 80 organisatons and 549 at Suhrawardy Udyan to 329 organisations.

Besides, 24 pavilions (15,536 square feet) have been allocated for 24 publishing houses, including Bangla Academy, while last year, 15 pavilions were allocated for 14 publishing houses, including Bangla Academy.

There are strict security arrangements in and around the book fair venue to avert any unpleasant incident during the fair.

Publishers from across the country are exhibiting a huge number of books on different issues while Bangla Academy is putting 141 newly printed and reprinted books on display.

A newly launched website and apps provide the information about the fair.

Awards will be handed over to the publishing houses on the closing day of the book fair.

The 'Chittaranjan Saha Smriti Puraskar' will be awarded for the publication of a good number of quality books in the fair while 'Munier Chowdhury Smriti Puraskar' will be given for the aesthetic design.