Last week, our community mourned the loss of a wonderful, award-winning poet, author and journalist, Iqbal Hasan. A creative writer, a storyteller, Iqbal Hasan loved writing poetry. His literary works explored the complexities of the human experience and often dealt with themes of love, loss, displacement and identity. Through his words, he talked about his roots within his motherland as well as the struggles of day-to-day life as an immigrant.

In one of his interviews, he described the loneliness after leaving one’s birthplace saying, [Remarks in Bengali]. Speaker, he really had a way with his words.

Iqbal Hasan’s contribution to Bengali literature, both in Canada, Bangladesh and around the globe, has been significant, with over 50 published works to his name. It is a testament to his talent that he was recognized with the prestigious Syed Waliullah award by the Bangla Academy in 2014.

I had the opportunity to get to know him over the past years. In fact, he sat right here in the members’ gallery just a few years ago when we passed then-MPP Percy Hatfield’s bill to establish the Poet Laureate of Ontario. He was filled with joy seeing such admiration for poetry by our province.

The passing of poet Iqbal Hasan has left a void in the literary world. My thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and loved ones. He will remain an integral part of the Bengali literary community and his legacy will continue to inspire future generations of writers.