A felicitation ceremony was held on 10 January 2026 at the Shamsur Rahman Seminar Hall of the Bangla Academy to celebrate the 58th birthday of Foyez Alam, the distinguished poet, postcolonial theorist, and independent thinker. The event, titled “Foyez Alam: His Creative Journey,” was jointly organized by literary and cultural organizations including Dhaka Report 24, Bangalmel, Saralrekha, Biography Foundation, Bookworm Society, and Kavyaswar.

Bangla Academy President and renowned educationist Professor Abul Kasem Fazlul Haque and Md. Fazlur Rahman CSP, Chairman of Janata Bank, attended as special guests. The ceremony featured speeches by writers and scholars including Abu Said Tulu, poet and storyteller Johra Parul, Khalil Majid, Zahir Hasan, Raju Ahmed Mamun, Mamun Khan, Imran Mahfuz, Mamun Azad, and Rici Dalai, editor of Littlemag, among others.

Poetry recitations were performed by Anwar Parvez, Murad Hasan, Ikhlas Khan of Kavyaswar, and Shahjahan, an official of Janata Bank. Many of Foyez Alam’s classmates, colleagues, and admirers attended to offer birthday greetings. The event drew over 150 literature enthusiasts.

A documentary on the poet’s life and literary work was screened, followed by readings, recitations, and dramatizations of his poems. The celebration concluded with a birthday cake-cutting ceremony.

Speakers highlighted Foyez Alam’s contributions as a postcolonial thinker and independent literary voice, noting that his three decades of writing have offered new perspectives on colonial experience and its lingering effects in knowledge, culture, and literary practice. He has pioneered the use of colloquial Bangla as a literary medium, a movement now gaining ground nationwide. His works include the book “Bhashar Upnobesh: Bangla Bhashar Rupantorer Itihas”, which demonstrates the legitimacy of representing the diverse vernacular traditions of Bangladesh in writing, and “Bangalir Itihas Charchar Pather Kata”, a recent collection of research essays in colloquial Bangla.

To date, Foyez Alam has authored five poetry collections: Byaktir Mrityu O Khap Khawa Manush, Jolchape Lekha, Raiter Age Ekta Gan, Amare Urao Dhula, and Jokhon Ruhure Haraya Feli; six essay collections: Prachin Bangali Samaj O Sanskriti, Uttor-Upnobeshi Mon, Bhasha, Khomota O Amader Ladai Prosongo, Buddhijibi, Tar Day O Bangalir Buddhibrttik Dasotto, Bhashar Upnobesh: Bangla Bhashar Rupantorer Itihas, and Bangalir Itihas Charchar Pather Kata; and several notable translations, including Edward Said’s Orientalism, Covering Islam, and selected works of Jacques Derrida and Edward Said.

The speakers lauded Alam’s enduring contribution to Bangladesh’s literary and intellectual landscape and emphasized his role in fostering critical thought and postcolonial literary discourse.