Poetry; translation; modern Bengali history; Bengali songs; opera.
Research interests
William Radice read English at Oxford and studied Bengali under the late Dr Tarapada Mukherjee at SOAS.
He has pursued a double career as a poet and academic, and has authored or edited more than 30 books. Among his research interests in Bengali language and literature, the writings of Michael Madhusudan Dutt and Tagore hold a special place.
His publications on Bengali literature include two volumes of translations for Penguin Classics: Rabindranath Tagore: Selected Poems (1985) and Rabindranath Tagore: Selected Short Stories (1991).
He is also the author of Teach Yourself Bengali (1994). Other books include Particles, Jottings, Sparks: The Collected Brief Poems of Rabindranath Tagore (HarperCollins, Delhi 2000 and Angel Books, London 2001), Myths and Legends of India (The Folio Society, 2001 and Penguin India, 2002) and Poetry and Community: Lectures and Essays 1991-2001 (D. C. Publishers, Delhi).
His complete translation of Michael Madhusudan Dutt's epic poem Meghnadbadh kabya is due to be published by Penguin India in 2010, and he is currently working on a new translation of Tagore’s Gitanjali, also for Penguin India.
Publications
The dancing mouse: poems = Die tanzende Maus
Radice, William and Saltzwedel, Caroline (2008). Hamburg: (Hirundo Press)
Rabindranath Tagore, Show yourself to my soul, a new translation of Gitanjali
Radice, William (2002). In: Talarovic, James, (ed.), Show yourself to my soul: a new translation of Gitanjali. Notre Dame, Indiana: Sorin Books, pp 7-8
Xenophilia and xenophobia: Michael Madhusudan Datta's Meghnad-Badh-Kabya
Radice, William (1998). In: Snell, Rupert, (eds.) and Raeside, I.M.P., (eds.), Classics of Modern South Asian Literature. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, pp 143-169
