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Clinton B. Seely

クリントン・B・シーリー

Kurinton B. Shiirī

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1941-06-21 （United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English, Bengali
Residence History
Barisal, Bangladesh → Calcutta/Kolkata, India → Chicago, United States → United States (residence)

Career

Occupations
academic, translator, scholar
Active Years
1963-2008
Affiliations
University of Chicago (faculty), Bangla Academy (Fellow), American Institute of Indian Studies (Senior Research Fellow)

Education

Stanford University
School of Humanities and Sciences (Biology major) / Biology
Degree: B.A.
Period: 1959–1963
Year of Graduation: 1963
Country: United States
Undergraduate major in biology
University of Chicago
Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations / South Asian Languages and Civilizations
Degree: M.A.
Period: 1966–1968
Year of Graduation: 1968
Country: United States
Studied Bengali under Edward C. Dimock and others
University of Chicago
Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations (PhD) / South Asian Languages and Civilizations
Degree: Ph.D.
Period: 1969–1976
Year of Graduation: 1976
Country: United States
Doctoral dissertation on the poet Jibanananda Das ("Doe in Heat")

Awards

National Defense Foreign Language Fellowship
1965
Organization: University of Chicago
Result: 受給
Foreign Area Fellowship
1968
Organization: Unknown
Result: 受給
Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad Fellowship
1981
Organization: Fulbright Program
Result: 受給
Senior Research Fellowship
1982
Organization: American Institute of Indian Studies
Result: 受給
Ashoke Kumar Sarkar Memorial Ananda Prize
1993
Organization: Ananda Prize (Calcutta)
Result: 受賞
Special Award, North America Bangla Literature & Culture Convention
1997
Organization: North America Bangla Literature & Culture Convention
Result: 受賞（特別賞）
Dinesh Chandra Sen Research Society's Award for Excellence in Research in Bengali Literature
1999
Organization: Dinesh Chandra Sen Research Society
Result: 受賞
Distinguished Service Award
2004
Organization: Cultural Association of Bengal (presented at NABC)
Result: 受賞
Fellow, Bangla Academy
2008
Organization: Bangla Academy
Result: 任命

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Rain Through the Night

1973 Novel (translation)

An English translation of Buddhadeva Bose's novel 'Raat Bhorey Brishti', bringing an important Bengali novel to English readers.

post-colonial Bengali societypersonal and political conflict

A Poet Apart: A Literary Biography of the Bengali Poet Jibanananda Das

1990 Biography / Literary criticism

A scholarly literary biography of the Bengali poet Jibanananda Das, tracing his life and works with extensive research.

life and creative context of a poetmodernization of Bengali poetry

The Slaying of Meghanada: A Ramayana from Colonial Bengal

2004 Epic poem (translation)

An English translation of Michael Madhusudan Dutt's epic 'Meghnad Bodh Kavya', a long-term translation project completed over decades.

reinterpretation of the Ramayanacolonial literature and nationalism

Barisal and Beyond: Essays on Bangla Literature

2008 Essays / Literary studies

A collection of essays on Bangla literature drawing on Seely's experiences in Barisal and his scholarly research.

regionalism and literaturetranslation and cultural exchange

Bibliography

  • Rain through the Night (1973)
  • Women, Politics, and Literature in Bengal (ed., 1981)
  • Grace and Mercy in Her Wild Hair (co-author, 1982)
  • Introduction to and translation of lyrics by Ramprasad Sen (reprinted 1999)
  • A Bengali Prose Reader for Second-Year Students (1988)
  • A Poet Apart: A Literary Biography of Jibanananda Das (1990)
  • Calcutta, Bangladesh, and Bengal Studies (ed., 1991)
  • Bengal Studies (co-ed., 2001)
  • Intermediate Bangla (2002)
  • The Slaying of Meghanada (2004)
  • Barisal and Beyond (2008)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
clear academic prosetranslation-oriented style that aims to preserve source-language poetic nuance
Recurring Motifs
attachment to Bangla cultureintersection of poetry and history

Legacy

Clinton B. Seely is an important scholar and translator who introduced Bengali literature to English-speaking audiences, contributed to Bengali studies as an educator, and produced work spanning translation, biography, and language-learning software.

Academic Societies

  • Bangla Academy
  • American Institute of Indian Studies

Archives

  • University of Chicago archives (possible holdings)

Quotes

  • In Nature the most beautiful is usually the hybrid thing.
    Source: Interview in The Daily Star (2005)

Trivia

  • Served in the US Peace Corps in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1963, teaching in Barisal, an experience that influenced his later work.
  • Developed several computer programs in the 1980s to support Bengali language learning.
  • Spent decades working on an English translation of Michael Madhusudan Dutt's epic poem.