decorate it in a befitting manner with artwork. Suhrawardy was a member of this committee. Suhrawardy also worked as a diplomat. He was an ambassador of Pakistan to Spain, Morocco, Tunisia and the Vatican from 1954 onwards. He was very close to Jawaharlal Nehru and Sudhindranath Dutta. He was proficient in many languages including Russian, Cantonese, Aramaic, Greek, Italian, Spanish, French. Suhrawardy retired in 1959 and returned to Pakistan and took no active part in public life. Suhrawardy was the Founder President of Pakistan PEN, a sister organisation of the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds. His anthology titled Essays in Verse of his work was published in 1962 from Dhaka. It included the poems he had written during his stay at Oxford and works that he had published in different English and American literary journals. His poems embody the spirit of the different avant-garde poetic movements of Europe. The book itself is divided into three parts: New Poems, Early Poems and An Oldman's Songs, which reflect elegant and tender thoughts. Bibliography Suhrawardy earned fame as Rani Bagiswari Professor of Fine Arts at the University of Calcutta during 1932–43. A compilation of his famous lectures named Prefaces: Lectures on Art Subjects was published by the university. Other works by him worth mentioning are: The Art of Jamini Ray; Mussalman Culture (translated from the original Russian work by Vasily Bartold); A Handbook of Mussalman Art; The Art of the Mussalmans in Spain; and Wanderings of a Gourmet. The first of these books a pioneering work of art-criticism written in a lucid style. He is also known to have written a book on cookery and another translating the poems of Li Houzhu. Death Shahid Suhrawardy died on 5 December 1963 in Lebanon. References External links Forgotten pride of our subcontinent Hasan Shahid Suhrawardy (1890–1965), Poet and critic, National Portrait Gallery, London 1890 births 1965 deaths Bengali Muslims People from Midnapore Bengali writers 20th-century Bengali poets Hasan Shahid Pakistani people of Bengali descent English-language poets from Pakistan Scottish Church College alumni University of Calcutta alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford Academic staff of Moscow State University Academic staff of Saint Petersburg State University Academic staff of Charles University Academic staff of the University of Calcutta Columbia University faculty Pakistani writers Ambassadors of Pakistan to Spain Ambassadors of Pakistan to Morocco Ambassadors of Pakistan to Tunisia Ambassadors of Pakistan to the Holy See Ambassadors