Shahed Kayes

Shahed Kayes was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 16 September 1970. He was brought up in the ancient capital of Bangladesh Sonargaon, and educated in Sonargaon, Dhaka, Chennai (South India), and Gwangju (South Korea). Kayes started writing poetry in the early nineties. He has published six volumes of poetry in Bengali and edited an anthology of Bengali love poems. He also edited the book “Who Really They Are?” (Human Rights situation in 12 Asian Countries) published in English by 'May 18 Memorial Foundation', in Gwangju, South Korea. He is also editor of the book “Remembering Scientist Maqsudul Alam” (A memoir). Kayes’s poetry is both the instrument and the outcome of his attempt to come to terms with himself. One finds in the poems the imprint of a keen mind trying to explore and communicate on a personal level feeling of loss and deprivation. Kayes is conscious in his poetry of the contradictions in society and the human struggle. Kayes is also involved with social work and human rights activities in Bangladesh. With his passion for social change, experience in cultural diversity, background in creative writing, and Human Rights activism he is dedicated to People's sovereignty, Multiculturalism, Rule of law, Democracy, and Human Rights. Several times his life was under threat, for working for the human rights of his countrymen.