Sajed Kamal

 

Sajed Kamal, born in Bardhaman, West Bengal, India, grew up in what is now Bangladesh until coming to The Loomis School in Connecticut in 1963. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Economics and Education, respectively, from Northeastern University and his doctorate in Humanistic Studies from Boston University. He is an award-winning poet, artist, photographer, translator, psychotherapist, Teacher-Consultant at Corner Co-op Nursery School in Brookline, MA, renewable energy educator and an Adjunct Lecturer at Brandeis University, MA. For his pioneering work in renewable energy he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (2008), and the Rachel Carson Award from the Massachusetts Interfaith Power & Light (2012).

 

Author of more than a dozen books and many articles on different subjects, his poetry, in English and Bengali originals, and his translations have been published in the United States and abroad, and his paintings, sculptures and photographs have been exhibited in many individual and group shows. His published books include People City: After the Snowstorm, in poetry and photographs (Fenway Arts Council, 1978); Peaceworks, on art for peace by New England artists (Branden Press, Brookline, MA, 1985); Photovoltaics: A Global Revolution & Its Scope for Bangladesh (UBINIG: Policy Research for Development Alternative, Bangladesh, 1989); Polimateer Goon (Virtues of Alluvial Soil), poems in Bengali (Sanjher Maya, Bangladesh, 1995); Kazi Nazrul Islam: Selected Works (poems, songs, stories, plays, essays and speeches, translated by Sajed Kamal; The Nazrul Institute, Bangladesh, 1999); Mother of Pearls, selected poems of Sufia Kamal (Bangla Academy, Bangladesh, 2001); Why Mustn’t I Flare Up? poetry of Kabita Chakma, translated from Bengali/Changma by Sajed Kamal (Narigrantha Prabartana, Bangladesh, 2002); Chharai Bhara Bashundhara (A World Full of Rhymes), poems for children in Bengali with drawings, recipient of The National Book Centre Award, Bangladesh, 2005 (Somoy Prakashan, Bangladesh, 2003); Awake Beautiful Eternal Youth!, translation of a musical play by Kazi Nazrul Islam (The Nazrul Institute, 2006); Sundarban: Poems and Photographs of an Enchanting Journey (Somoy Prakashan, Bangladesh, 2006); The Untapped Energy Mine: The Revolutionary Scope of Renewable Energy to Fight Climate Change, Revitalize the Economy and Gain Energy Independence for Bangladesh (Scholars Publishers, Bangladesh, 2010); The Renewable Revolution: How We Can Fight Global Warming, Prevent Energy Wars, Revitalize the Economy and Transition to a Sustainable Future (Earthscan, 2011); and A Sage in the Dust: A Bilingual Edition of Selected Poems by Rabindranath Tagore(Bangla Academy, Bangladesh, 2012).

 

Poems

 

Ekushe Mane-The Meaning of Ekushe