Brief Bio:
A winner of the Reuel International Prize for Poetry (2019) for Best Upcoming Poet from North East India, Saikh Md. Sabah Al-Ahmed is a young Guwahati-based poet, lyricist and columnist from Assam. He was also awarded a ‘Certificate of Excellence’ by the United Nations Association (UNA) of Assam for his ‘outstanding literary achievements in the field of poetry and journalism’. His debut poetry collection Tranquil Musings was reviewed by Jnanpith awardee Dr. Mamoni Raisom Goswami and released by legendary (former) BBC journalist Sir Mark Tully at the Asia International Literary Festival in 2010. He has been invited to some of the most prestigious literary festivals in India like the Asia International Literary Festival, Guwahati, 2010, Brahmaputra Literary Festival, (BLF, 2019), Guwahati, Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival, (AKLF, 2020), Mystic Kalinga Festival, Odisha, 2020, and the Alliance Literary Festival, Bengaluru, (ALF, 2022).
His poems have been translated into Italian by Giorgio Moio in Frequenze Poetiche, an Italian magazine published from the city of Naples. Closer to home, his poems were translated into Manipuri by veteran Manipuri writer and critic Laishram Memo Singh. Keki Daruwala, one of India’s legendary poets, applauds him as “A young poet with promise.”
His poems and book reviews have appeared in Indian Literature (Sahitya Akademi), Frequenze Poetiche (Italy), Asian Times (Canada), Joao-Roque Literary Journal (London), Kritya, The Alipore Post, Garhwal Post (Uttrakhand), The Telegraph, The Assam Tribune, The Sentinel, etc. Besides these publications, his poems have also appeared in prestigious international and national poetry anthologies like The Roseate Sonnet Anthology (100 poems by 102 poets of ‘The Significant League’) and WITNESS: The Red River Book of Poetry of Dissent. His popular monthly column titled Urban Musing has completed a century of columns in The Assam Tribune since he first started it in April, 2013.
He presently teaches English and Social Sciences at his alma mater – Don Bosco School, Guwahati, and was also a Guest Faculty of Creative Writing and Poetry at Cotton University. His forthcoming books are Urban Musing: Musings on Guwahati and more… (Eastern Book House, Guwahati) and The Stink of Aroma (Writers Workshop, Kolkata). His popular poetry blog poetsabah.com is a storehouse of his elegant verses.
Sabah's Quote