poetry was a luxury in a world of gross deprivation and injustice and decided he would instead dedicate himself to agitating on behalf of the poor, regardless of the cost to himself. He remained committed to this cause for the rest of his life, despite experiencing significant poverty himself. Tribute ... He is comparatively modern poet without being progressive. He has dedicated his first work to Muzaffar Ahmad. I pray that it should mean something more than a mere personal allegiance ... Brevity is its (his poems') soul ... Samar Sen is an up-to-date representative poet. He needs to be progressive by informing himself with a sense of history. He has also yet to be symbolic. Still there is no doubt of his being a poet of a particular genre. (Dhurjati Mukherji) We talk about being rid of the influence of Rabindranath [Tagore]; as if we take it for granted that the influence of Rabindranath is inevitable in a young Bengali poet's endeavour. But what amazes me is that this young poet has never been under the influence of Rabindranath. (Buddhadeb Basu) Quotes Among those who are penning modern Bengali poetry, most of them haven't joined a political movement, and that's sad. But many of them are powerful writers and have impacted the middle class society. Reason? Because many of them have brought changes in their perspective and expression, breaking the ivory tower of a mere aesthetics of truth, beauty and goodness and by being conscious of the disgust and the multi-layered failure of the middle class life. In these times of dereliction and dismay, of wars, unemployment and revolutions, the decayed side of things attracts us most ... Perhaps that is because we have our roots deep in the demoralized petty bourgeoisie and lack the vitality of a rising class. Our poetry (Bengali poetry) is basically without a tradition. Samar Sen was founder-editor of the weekly magazine Frontier, first published in 1968. See also Hungry generation References Bengali male poets 1916 births 1987 deaths Bengali-language writers Bengali-language poets 20th-century Bengalis 20th-century Bengali poets Bengali Hindus Indian Marxist writers Indian Marxist poets Indian Communist poets Scottish Church College alumni University of Calcutta alumni 20th-century Indian poets Poets from West Bengal Writers from Kolkata Indian male journalists Journalists from West Bengal 20th-century Indian journalists Indian Marxist journalists