Poets

Hayat Saif (Bengali: হায়াৎ সাইফ) is a twentieth century modern Bengali poet and literary critic from Bangladesh. A career bureaucrat, he retired in 2000 and since then is engaged in the corporate private sector and divides his time in World Scouting and literary and artistic pursuits. He has been translated in English and Spanish and, in Bangladesh, is generally acclaimed as an intellectual interpreter of contemporary life and culture. Born in 1942 as Saiful Islam Khan he assumed this pen name in 1961 when contributing to literary journals.

Early life and Career

He was born to Moslem Uddin Khan and Begum Sufia Khan in 1942. After high school, he studied English literature and obtained his M. A degree in 1965. After graduation, he taught in colleges for about three years and then joined the Pakistan Superior Service in the Finance cadre in 1968. He was involved in the revenue administration and tax policy making for more than three decades. He acted as Chairman of the National Board of Revenue and retired in 1999. In early 1960s, still a student, he worked as a casual announcer and newscaster in the Dhaka centre of the then Radio Pakistan and later in Pakistan Television at Lahore Center. He still continues his interests in broadcasting and telecasting and anchors literary programmers and talk shows.

Works

He is one of the major poets of Bangladesh belonging to the generation of 1960s who set a clear trend of modern poetry in Bangladesh along wi..