https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Bashabi_FraserBashabi Fraser - Revision history2026-07-31T01:20:02ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Bashabi_Fraser&diff=490006&oldid=prevBenjaminWoodard at 17:12, 24 December 20252025-12-24T17:12:42Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Indian-Scottish poet, writer, editor, translator and academic (born 1954)}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}<br />
{{EngvarB|date=February 2023}}<br />
{{Infobox person<br />
| name = Bashabi Fraser<br />
| honorific_suffix = CBE<br />
| image = <br />
| caption =<br />
| birth_place = [[Purulia]], [[West Bengal]], India<br />
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1954}} <br />
| alma_mater = <br />
| occupation = Poet, children's writer, editor, translator, academic<br />
| notable_works =<br />
| awards = <br />
| website = {{URL|bashabifraser.co.uk/}}<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Bashabi Fraser''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|CBE}} (born 1954) is an Indian-born Scottish academic, editor, translator, and writer. She is a Professor Emerita of English and Creative Writing at [[Edinburgh Napier University]] and an Honorary Fellow at the Centre for South Asian Studies at the University of Edinburgh and an Honorary Fellow of the Association of Literary Studies (ALS), Scotland, and a former [[Royal Literary Fund]] Fellow.<ref name="ScoTs profile" /> She has authored and edited 23 books, published several articles and chapters, both academic and creative and as a poet.<br />
<br />
== Early life and education ==<br />
Born in [[Purulia]], [[West Bengal]], India,<ref name="Statesman">{{cite news |title=Bengal-born poet bags top UK honour |url=https://www.thestatesman.com/bengal/bengal-born-poet-bags-top-uk-honour-1502948612.html |access-date=9 September 2022 |work=[[The Statesman (India)|The Statesman]] |date=25 January 2021}}</ref> Bashabi Fraser moved to the United Kingdom when she was young. Her mother Anima was awarded a scholarship to the [[London School of Economics]] and her father Bimalendu Bhattacharya became the first [[Commonwealth Scholar]] from India hosted in the UK. A friend of Fraser's parents in the UK, Julian Dakin, would bring books for her and read them with her. Fraser would write poetry for him and he would later enter the poems for the Commonwealth Scholar Award, without her parents' knowledge, which resulted in Fraser winning its first prize.<ref name="Telegraph India">{{cite news |last1=Chakrabarti |first1=Debanjan |title=Rewriting colonial past through culture |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/people/rewriting-colonial-past-through-culture/cid/1807353 |work=[[The Telegraph (India)|The Telegraph]] |date=21 February 2021 |access-date=17 November 2022}}</ref><br />
<br />
Fraser returned to India where her parents worked at the newly opened [[North Bengal University]].<ref name="Telegraph India" /> She attended St. Helen's Convent, [[Kurseong]] in [[Darjeeling]] and later earned a BA in English from [[Lady Brabourne College]], [[University of Calcutta]] and an MA in English from [[Jadavpur University]], both in [[Kolkata]]. She pursued a PhD in English from the University of Calcutta and [[University of Edinburgh]], [[Scotland]] as a [[Commonwealth Fellow]].<ref name="Statesman" /><ref name="ScoTs profile">{{Cite web |title=Professor Bashabi Fraser: Director of The Scottish Centre of Tagore Studies. |url=https://scotstagore.org/professor-bashabi-fraser-director-of-the-scottish-centre-of-tagore-studies/ |access-date=12 November 2022 |publisher=Scottish Centre of Tagore Studies}}</ref> She was introduced to her future husband, Neil, while completing her PhD at the University of Edinburgh. She moved to [[Edinburgh]] following their wedding.<ref name="Telegraph India" /><br />
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== Career ==<br />
Fraser was Professor of English and Creative Writing at [[Edinburgh Napier University]] and became Professor Emerita at the institution after retirement. She is co-founder and director of the Scottish Centre of Tagore Studies (ScoTs). She is an Honorary Fellow at the Centre for South Asian Studies at the University of Edinburgh and an Honorary Fellow of the Association of Literary Studies (ALS), Scotland, and a former [[Royal Literary Fund]] Fellow.<ref name="ScoTs profile" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bashabi Fraser, CBE |url=https://www.rlf.org.uk/fellowships/bashabi-fraser/ |access-date=3 September 2022 |publisher=[[Royal Literary Fund]]}}</ref><br />
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Fraser specialises in [[postcolonial literature]] and [[postcolonial theory|theory]]. Her profile on the ScoTs website states that "Her research and writing reflect her interest in [[diasporic]] themes: the intermeshings of culture and identity, of dislocation and relocation, of belonging and otherness, of memory and nostalgia, of third space and hybridity and of conflicts and freedoms."<ref name="ScoTs profile" /> She is chief editor of ''Gitanjali and Beyond'', an academic and creative peer-reviewed online journal associated with ScoTs,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Editorial Board |url=https://gitanjaliandbeyond.co.uk/editorial-team/ |access-date=3 September 2022 |website=Gitanjali and Beyond}}</ref> and is on the editorial board of WritersMosaic, a platform for writers of colour which is an initiative of the Royal Literary Fund.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Team members |url=https://writersmosaic.org.uk/people-categories/team-member/ |access-date=3 September 2022 |publisher=Writers Mosaic}}</ref><br />
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Fraser has been described as "chief ideator" of the Intercultural Poetry and Performance Library, an organisation made up of various creative individuals and formed in 2017 under the Kolkata [[Indian Council for Cultural Relations]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chatterji |first1=Shoma A |title=Unbridled expression of inner-self |url=https://www.thestatesman.com/supplements/8thday/unbridled-expression-inner-self-1502661295.html |access-date=17 May 2023 |work=[[The Statesman (India)|The Statesman]] |date=15 July 2018}}</ref><br />
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== Honors and awards ==<br />
Fraser was appointed a [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] in the [[2021 New Year Honours]] for services to education, culture and cultural integration in Scotland, in particular her projects linking Scotland and India.<ref name="Statesman" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Staff recognised in New Year Honours |url=https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2020/staff-recognised-in-new-year-s-honours |access-date=3 September 2022 |publisher=[[University of Edinburgh]]}}</ref> The [[Saltire Society]] named her an Outstanding Woman of Scotland in 2015.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sturgeon makes saltire society list |url=https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/13303782.sturgeon-makes-saltire-society-list/ |access-date=6 November 2022 |work=[[Glasgow Times]] |date=9 March 2015}}</ref><br />
<br />
== Works ==<br />
=== As author ===<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Fraser |first1=Bashabi |title=Life |date=1997 |publisher=Diehard |location=London |isbn=9780946230440 |ref=no |author-mask=1}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Fraser |author-mask1=1 |first1=Bashabi |title=With Best Wishes from Edinburgh |date=2001 |publisher=Writers Workshop |location=Calcutta |isbn=9788175958517 |ref=no}}<ref name="With Best Wishes from Edinburgh review" /><br />
* {{cite book |last1=Fraser |author-mask1=1 |first1=Bashabi |title=Just One Diwali Night: A Children's Story |date=2004 |publisher=Das Gupta & Co |location=Kolkata |isbn=9788182110045 |ref=no}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Fraser |author-mask1=1 |first1=Bashabi |title=Tartan & Turban |date=2004 |publisher=Luath |location=Edinburgh |isbn=9781842820445 |ref=no}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Fraser |author-mask1=1 |first1=Bashabi |title=Topsy Turvy |date=2004 |publisher=Das Gupta & Co |location=Kolkata |isbn=9788182110052 |ref=no}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Fraser |author-mask1=1 |first1=Bashabi |title=From the Ganga to the Tay: a poetic conversation between the Ganges and the Tay |date=2009 |publisher=Luath |location=Edinburgh |isbn=9781906307950 |ref=no}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Fraser |first1=Bashabi |author-mask1=1 |title=Scots Beneath the Banyan Tree: Stories from Bengal |date=2011 |publisher=Owl and Lion |location=Edinburgh |isbn=9780956808103 |ref=no}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Fraser |author-mask1=1 |first1=Bashabi |title=Ragas and Reels: Visual and Poetic Stories of Migration and Diaspora |date=2012 |publisher=Luath |location=Edinburgh |isbn=9781908373342 |ref=no}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Fraser |author-mask1=1 |first1=Bashabi |title=Letters to My Mother and Other Mothers |date=2015 |location=Edinburgh |isbn=9781910745144 |ref=no}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Fraser |author-mask1=1 |first1=Bashabi |title=The Homing Bird |date=2017 |publisher=Indigo Scotland |location=Halwill, Beaworthy |isbn=9781910834343 |ref=no}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Fraser |author-mask1=1 |first1=Bashabi |title=My Mum's Sari |series=Word Waves |date=2019 |publisher=Bright Button Productions |url=https://bam.files.bbci.co.uk/bam/live/content/zm22jsg/pdf |ref=no}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Fraser |author-mask1=1 |first1=Bashabi |title=The Ramayana: A Stage Play and A Screen Play |date=2019 |publisher=Aadi Publications |location=Jaipur, India |isbn=978-93-87799-28-8 |ref=no}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Fraser |first1=Bashabi |title=Rabindranath Tagore |date=2019 |publisher=[[Reaktion Books]] |location=London |isbn=9781789141498 |series=Critical Lives |ref=no |author-mask=1}}<ref name="Reviews of Rabindranath Tagore, 2019" /><br />
* {{cite book |last1=Fraser |first1=Bashabi |title=Patient Dignity |date=2021 |publisher=Scotland Street Press |location=Edinburgh |isbn=9781910895542 |ref=no |author-mask=1}}<ref name="Patient Dignity, National 2022" /><ref name="Patient Dignity, Herald 2022" /><br />
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=== As editor ===<br />
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Fraser |editor1-first=Bashabi |editor-mask1=1 |editor2-last=Clark |editor2-first=Helen |editor3-last=Dick |editor3-first=Lorraine |title=Peoples of Edinburgh: Our Multicultural City, personal narratives, experiences, and photographs |date=1996 |publisher=City of Edinburgh Council |url=http://bashabifraser.co.uk/index.php/books/27-peoples-of-edinburgh-our-multicultural-city-personal-narratives-experiences-and-photographs |ref=no}}<br />
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Fraser |editor1-first=Bashabi |editor-mask1=1 |editor2-last=Clark |editor2-first=Helen |editor3-last=Connan |editor3-first=Joyce |title=Peoples of Edinburgh: Methodology and Evaluation |date=1999 |publisher=City of Edinburgh Council and Workers Educational Association |url=http://bashabifraser.co.uk/index.php/books/28-peoples-of-edinburgh-methodology-and-evaluation |ref=no}}<br />
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Fraser |editor1-first=Bashabi |editor-mask=1 |editor2-last=Grieg |editor2-first=Elaine |title= Edinburgh: an Intimate City, an illustrated anthology of contemporary poetry on Edinburgh |date=2000 |publisher=Dept. of Recreation, City of Edinburgh Council |isbn=978-0905072937 |ref=no}}<br />
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Fraser |editor1-first=Bashabi |editor-mask1=1 |editor2-last=Chatterjee |editor2-first=Debjani |editor2-link=Debjani Chatterjee |title=Rainbow World: Poems from Many Cultures |date=2003 |publisher=Hodder Wayland |location=London |isbn=978-0750242806 |ref=no}}<br />
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Fraser |editor-mask1=1 |editor1-first=Bashabi |title=The Tagore-Geddes Correspondence |date=2004 |publisher=Visva-Bharati |location=Kolkata |isbn=9788175223738 |ref=no}}<br />
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Fraser |editor1-first=Bashabi |title=Bengal Partition Stories: An Unclosed Chapter |date=2006 |publisher=Anthem Press |location=London |isbn=978-1843312994 |ref=no |editor-mask=1}}<br />
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Fraser |editor-mask1=1 |editor1-first=Bashabi |editor2-last=Mukherjee |editor2-first=Tapati |editor3-last=Sen |editor3-first=Amrit |title=Scottish Orientalism and the Bengal Renaissance: The Continuum of Ideas |date=2017 |publisher=Visva-Bharati |location=Santiniketan |isbn=9788175226517 |ref=no}}<br />
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Fraser |editor-mask1=1 |editor1-first=Bashabi |editor2-last=Mukherjee |editor2-first=Tapati |editor3-last=Sen |editor3-first=Amrit |title=A Confluence of Minds: The Rabindranath Tagore and Patrick Geddes Reader on Education and Environment |date=2017 |ref=no}}<br />
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Fraser |editor1-first=Bashabi |editor2-last=Riach |editor2-first=Alan |editor2-link=Alan Riach |title=Thali Katori, An Anthology of Scottish and South Asian Poetry |date=2017 |location=Edinburgh |isbn=978-1912147090 |ref=no |editor-mask=1}}<ref name="2017 anthology" /><br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
<references><br />
<br />
<ref name="With Best Wishes from Edinburgh review">{{cite journal |last1=Upadhyay |first1=Anjla |title=Review of With Best Wishes From Edinburgh Poetry collection |journal=[[Indian Literature (journal)|Indian Literature]] |publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi]] |year=2003 |volume=47 |issue=2 (214) |pages=222–224 |issn=0019-5804 |jstor=23341409}}</ref><br />
<br />
<ref name="Reviews of Rabindranath Tagore, 2019">Reviews of ''Rabindranath Tagore'':<br />
* {{cite journal |ref=no |last1=Chatterji |first1=Aditi |title=Traversing space with Rabindranath Tagore: Rabindranath Tagore, by Bashabi Fraser, London, Reaktion Books Ltd, 2019, 248 pp., £11.99 (paperback), ISBN 9781789141498 |journal=[[Postcolonial Studies]] |date=8 March 2021 |pages=1–3 |doi=10.1080/13688790.2021.1894675|s2cid=233773530 }}<br />
* {{cite journal |last1=Kämpchen |first1=Martin |title=Critical lives: Rabindranath Tagore: by Bashabi Fraser, London, Reaktion Books, 2019, 248 pp., £11.99 (paperback), ISBN 9781789141498 |journal=[[Journal of Postcolonial Writing]] |date=4 March 2022 |volume=58 |issue=2 |pages=284–285 |doi=10.1080/17449855.2021.1997227 |s2cid=244905196 |ref=no}}<br />
* {{cite news |last1=Sen |first1=Sudeep |author1-link=Sudeep Sen |title='The spoils of separation, the price of disentangling' |url=https://www.asianage.com/books/020819/the-spoils-of-separation-the-price-of-disentangling.html |access-date=17 May 2023 |work=[[The Asian Age]] |date=2 August 2019 |ref=no}}<br />
* {{cite news |ref=no |last1=Mandal |first1=Somdatta |title=Bashabi Fraser's Critical Lives: Rabindranath Tagore |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/literature/news/bashabi-frasers-critical-lives-rabindranath-tagore-2071249 |access-date=9 September 2022 |work=[[The Daily Star (Bangladesh)|The Daily Star]] |date=3 April 2021}}</ref><br />
<br />
<ref name="2017 anthology">{{cite news |title=Poets launch anthology of Scottish and South Asian Poetry |url=https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/poets-launch-anthology-of-scottish-and-south-asian-poetry-1441520 |access-date=9 September 2022 |work=[[The Scotsman]] |date=24 August 2017}}</ref><br />
<br />
<ref name="Patient Dignity, National 2022">{{cite news |last1=Riach |first1=Alan |author-link1=Alan Riach |title=Alan Riach: Poetry books to bring pleasure amid self-serving politics |url=https://www.thenational.scot/culture/19903885.alan-riach-poetry-books-bring-pleasure-amid-self-serving-politics/ |access-date=9 September 2022 |work=[[The National (Scotland)|The National]] |date=7 February 2022}}</ref><br />
<br />
<ref name="Patient Dignity, Herald 2022">{{cite news |last1=Duncan |first1=Lesley |title=Lesley Duncan - Poem of the week: We will meet again |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19927438.lesley-duncan---poem-week-will-meet/ |access-date=17 May 2023 |work=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]] |date=21 February 2022}}</ref><br />
<br />
</references><br />
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== External links ==<br />
* {{Official website|http://bashabifraser.co.uk/}}<br />
<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Bashabi}}<br />
[[Category:Living people]]<br />
[[Category:1954 births]]<br />
[[Category:Scottish women poets]]<br />
[[Category:Scottish women academics]]<br />
[[Category:Academics of Edinburgh Napier University]]<br />
[[Category:Lady Brabourne College alumni]]<br />
[[Category:University of Calcutta alumni]]<br />
[[Category:Jadavpur University alumni]]<br />
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh]]<br />
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]<br />
[[Category:People from Purulia district]]</div>BenjaminWoodard