William Radice

Who is William Radice?

William Radice is a poet, writer and translator. He is the Senior Lecturer in Bengali in the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His research area is in Bengali language and literature. He has translated several Bengali works, and works by Rabindranath Tagore and Michael Madhusudan Dutt.

He adapted the text Debotar Grash by Rabindranath Tagore as an opera libretto, which was set to music by Param Vir as Snatched by the Gods. He wrote the libretto for a children's opera Chincha-Chancha Cooroo or The Weaver’s Wedding with music by Bernard Hughes.

He has published nine volumes of poetry ranging from Eight Sections, Strivings, Louring Skies and Gifts to his latest two books This Theatre Royal and Green, Red, Gold, a novel in 101 sonnets which were hailed by A. N. Wilson in The Daily Telegraph as stunning.

In 2002, he published the voluminous Myths and Legends of India, a collection of 112 of his own retellings with selections from P. Lal's ongoing transcreation of the Mahabharata. Along with the major Hindu myths, he has included legends and folk tales from Muslim, Buddhist, Jain, Syrian Christian and tribal sources.