Bishnu Dey

Bishnu Dey Biography

Bishnu Dey was a prominent writer of Bengali language. He was a poet, prose writer, translator, academic and art critic in the era of post-modernism. His name is included in "New Poetry" in Bengali literature after Tagore, along with Buddhadeb Basu and Samar Sen. Marxist principles have deeply influenced his works. He was inspired by the ideas and style of T. S. Eliot also. He has also worked as an English professor in many colleges of Bengal. He has also remained as a member of a young group of poets, associated with Kallol (Commotion) magazine. In 1965 Sahitya Akademi Award in Bengali and in 1971, he won Jnanpith award for his work - Smriti Satta Bhavishyat. 

Bishnu Dey was born on 18 July 1909 in Calcutta, British India. He studied at Mitra Institution and Sanskrit Collegiate School, Calcutta. He did IA from Bangabashi College, Calcutta and completed his BA with Honours in English from St. Paul’s Cathedral Mission College. Later he took MA in English from the University of Calcutta. In 1935, he joined Ripon College, Calcutta as a professor. Later he worked as a professor in many colleges including Presidency College, Kolkata (1944–1947) and Maulana Azad College, Kolkata (1947–1969).

After India partition in 1947, along with a group of writers, he formed "Anti-Fascist Writers' and Artist' Association". He has also associated with many groups like IPTA, Calcutta Group Centre, Soviet Friendship Association and Pragati Lekhak Shilpi Sangha. In association with artist Jamini Roy, he wrote books on art criticism. The published books are Art of Jamini Roy (1988), The Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore (1958) and India and Modern Art (1959). Apart from Jnanpith award and Sahitya Akademi Award, he has also received many accolades like Nehru Smriti Award (1967), Rastriya Jnanpith Award (1971) and Soviet Land Award for Rushti Panchashati.

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Updated: November 22, 2013