Clinton B. Seely
Encyclopedia
Clinton B. Seely(born 21 June 1941 is an American
academic and translator
, and a scholar of Bengali language
and literature
. He has translated the works of Ramprasad Sen
and Michael Madhusudan Dutt
and written a biography of Bengali poet Jibanananda Das
. He has also authored software packages related to Bengali. His latest book Barisal and Beyond was published from India
in 2008.
, where he majored in biology
. Upon graduation in 1963, he joined the US Peace Corps
, and travelled to the then-East Pakistan
(now Bangladesh
) as a Corps volunteer. There, for two years, he helped to teach biology at the Barisal Zilla School
in the southern district of Barisal. He studied Bengali at a local missionary school. Seely's attachment to Bangladesh
and its culture dates from this period.
Upon his return to the US, he entered the University of Chicago
's Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations. There he studied under the tutelage of Edward Dimock, a scholar of Bengali, and gained his Master's degree in 1968.
Around this time, Seely met the Bengali poet and journalist Jyotirmoy Datta
at a writer's workshop in Iowa
. Dutta encouraged him to take up poet Jibanananda Das as the subject of his doctoral research. Consequently, Seely returned to Bengal
in 1969, this time arriving in Calcutta, the city where Das had studied for his university degrees, and where he had lived and worked intermittently later in his life, before finally settling in 1946. Seely's investigations took him far and wide, from the libraries of Calcutta to the very street where the poet was run over by a tram in 1954.
He returned to Chicago
in 1971, and commenced teaching Bengali. His Ph.D thesis, on the life and works of Jibanananda, was completed in 1976. The title of the doctoral dissertation was : Doe in Heat: A Critical Biography of the Bengali Poet Jibanananda Das (1899–1954).
In the meantime, Seely had also completed his first work of translation - Buddhadeva Bose's popular and controversial novel Raat Bhorey Brishti, which appeared under the English title Rain Through the Night in 1973. He turned his researcher's attention on to the 19th-century poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt
. The translation of Dutt's epic poem Meghnadbadh Kavya, a project that Seely began in the 1970s, would not be completed for another three decades.
Seely retired from the University of Chicago in 2008.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
academic and translator
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
, and a scholar of Bengali language
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
and literature
Bengali literature
Bengali literature is literary works written in Bengali language particularly from Bangladesh and the Indian provinces of West Bengal and Tripura. The history of Bengali literature traces back hundreds of years while it is impossible to separate the literary trends of the two Bengals during the...
. He has translated the works of Ramprasad Sen
Ramprasad Sen
' was a Shakta poet of eighteenth century Bengal. His bhakti poems, known as Ramprasadi, are still popular in Bengal—they are usually addressed to the Hindu goddess Kali and written in Bengali...
and Michael Madhusudan Dutt
Michael Madhusudan Dutt
Michael Madhusudan Dutt or Michael Madhusudan Dutta was a popular 19th century Bengali poet and dramatist. He was born in Sagardari , on the bank of Kopotaksho [কপোতাক্ষ] River, a village in Keshobpur Upozila, Jessore District, East Bengal . His father was Rajnarayan Dutt, an eminent lawyer, and...
and written a biography of Bengali poet Jibanananda Das
Jibanananda Das
Jibanananda Das was a noted Bengali poet. He is considered one of the precursors who introduced modernist poetry to Bengali Literature, at a period when it was influenced by Rabindranath Tagore's Romantic poetry....
. He has also authored software packages related to Bengali. His latest book Barisal and Beyond was published from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 2008.
Life and work
Clinton Seely studied at the Stanford UniversityStanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, where he majored in biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
. Upon graduation in 1963, he joined the US Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
, and travelled to the then-East Pakistan
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
(now Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
) as a Corps volunteer. There, for two years, he helped to teach biology at the Barisal Zilla School
Barisal Zilla School
Barisal Zilla School is a boys school located in Barisal, Bangladesh. One of the oldest schools in Bangladesh, it has more than two thousand students. Beside the school playground, Barisal Zilla School owns famous ground called Poreshagor. The school celebrated its 175th anniversary on 9-10...
in the southern district of Barisal. He studied Bengali at a local missionary school. Seely's attachment to Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
and its culture dates from this period.
Upon his return to the US, he entered the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
's Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations. There he studied under the tutelage of Edward Dimock, a scholar of Bengali, and gained his Master's degree in 1968.
Around this time, Seely met the Bengali poet and journalist Jyotirmoy Datta
Jyotirmoy Datta
Jyotirmoy Datta is a Bengali writer, journalist, poet, and an essayist. He worked for The Statesman, Calcutta's oldest English-language daily, as feature writer, film critic, correspondent, and associate editor. He visited the University of Chicago as a lecturer, 1966–1968, and also did a...
at a writer's workshop in Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. Dutta encouraged him to take up poet Jibanananda Das as the subject of his doctoral research. Consequently, Seely returned to Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
in 1969, this time arriving in Calcutta, the city where Das had studied for his university degrees, and where he had lived and worked intermittently later in his life, before finally settling in 1946. Seely's investigations took him far and wide, from the libraries of Calcutta to the very street where the poet was run over by a tram in 1954.
He returned to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in 1971, and commenced teaching Bengali. His Ph.D thesis, on the life and works of Jibanananda, was completed in 1976. The title of the doctoral dissertation was : Doe in Heat: A Critical Biography of the Bengali Poet Jibanananda Das (1899–1954).
In the meantime, Seely had also completed his first work of translation - Buddhadeva Bose's popular and controversial novel Raat Bhorey Brishti, which appeared under the English title Rain Through the Night in 1973. He turned his researcher's attention on to the 19th-century poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt
Michael Madhusudan Dutt
Michael Madhusudan Dutt or Michael Madhusudan Dutta was a popular 19th century Bengali poet and dramatist. He was born in Sagardari , on the bank of Kopotaksho [কপোতাক্ষ] River, a village in Keshobpur Upozila, Jessore District, East Bengal . His father was Rajnarayan Dutt, an eminent lawyer, and...
. The translation of Dutt's epic poem Meghnadbadh Kavya, a project that Seely began in the 1970s, would not be completed for another three decades.
Seely retired from the University of Chicago in 2008.
Publications
In addition to numerous chapters and poetry that Professor Seely has contributed to various books, following are the titles he has published so far. His upcoming book to be published from India is Barisal and Beyond: Essays on Bangla Literature.- Rain through the Night. New Delhi: Hind Pocket Books, 1973 (revised by the author): Translation of a novel by Buddhadeva Bose.
- Women, Politics, and Literature in Bengal. Edited. East Lansing: Asian Studies Center, Michigan State University, 1981.
- Grace and Mercy in Her Wild Hair: Selected Poems to the Mother Goddess. Boulder, Colorado: Great Eastern Book Co., 1982 (co-author, Leonard Nathan).
- Introduction to and translation of lyrics by Ramprasad Sen,Reprinted: Prescott, Arizona: Hohm Press, 1999.
- A Bengali Prose Reader for Second-Year Students. By Edward C. Dimock, Jr. and Somdev Bhattacharji, with Ronald Inden, Arati John, and Clinton B. Seely. Chicago: The University of Chicago, Committee on Southern Asian Studies, 1988. Intermediate Bengali prose reader.
- A Poet Apart: A Literary Biography of the Bengali Poet Jibanananda Das (1899–1954), Newark, Delaware: University of Delaware Press; London and Toronto: Associated University Presses, 1990.
- Calcutta, Bangladesh, and Bengal Studies: 1990 Bengal Studies Conference Proceedings. Edited. East Lansing: Asian Studies Center, Michigan State University, 1991.
- Bengal Studies: A Collection of Essays. Co-edited with Rama Datta and Zillur Khan. New Delhi: Allied Publishers Limited, 2001.
- Intermediate Bangla. München: LINCOM EUROPA, 2002.
- The Slaying of Meghanada: A Ramayana from Colonial Bengal. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004
Computer Software
Professor Seely has written four computer software to facilitate language learning. These are:- "FLASHWORD.Bengali," 1987. An electronic "box of flash cards" in Bengali and English for the Macintosh.
- "SCRIPT.Bengali," 1988. A Bengali orthography tutor.
- "HyperBengali.I," 1989. A HyperCard stack version of An Introduction to Bengali, Part I, by E.C. Dimock, et al.
- "LearnLetters," 1989. A Bengali alphabet recognition tutor.
Awards
Academic and literary awards received by Professor are as follows :- National Defense Foreign Language Fellowship, The University of Chicago, 1965–68
- Foreign Area Fellowship, England, India, East Pakistan, & the US, 1968–71
- Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad Fellowship, Bangladesh, 1981–82
- American Institute of Indian Studies, Senior Research Fellowship, India, 1982
- "Ashoke Kumar Sarkar Memorial" Ananda Prize (Calcutta), 1993
- Special Award, 2nd North America Bangla Literature & Culture Convention (Chicago), 1997
- Dinesh Chandra Sen Research Society's "4th Annual Award for Excellence in Research in Bengali Literature" (Calcutta), 1999
- Distinguished Service Award, Cultural Association of Bengal, presented at the North American Bengali Conference (NABC 2004), Baltimore, 2004