Professor Emeritus of English, essayist, translator, literary critic
Nationality
Indian
Notable works
Ghumer Darja Thele, Where the Dreams Cross: T.S. Eliot and French Poetry, Bridging East and West: Rabindranath Tagore and Romain Rolland Correspondence 1919-1940
Guha was born to a scholarly and cultured family in Kolkata. In one of his interviews, Guha recalls of his deaf father reading Arthur Schopenhauer after returning from office or trying to feel the vibrations of Beethoven's Western Classical music.
Guha is Professor in the Department of English of University of Calcutta. He was also the former Head of the department and is at present the Chair of the PhD programme in English and the Undergraduate Board of English Studies. He has also lectured at multiple foreign universities including universities of Paris-Sorbonne, University of Paris 7 Denis Diderot, Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland; St John's College, Oxford; Manchester University, Warwick University, Worcester University College, University of Avignon, France; Institut des Langues Orientales, Paris et al.[6]
Guha was the Vice-Chancellor of Rabindra Bharati University and is a former director of Bureau du Livre, Embassy of France in New Delhi.[6]
A review in the Times Higher Education praised his enthusiasm for Eliot's poetry and his book Where the Dreams Cross as 'thoughtful and instructive' which 'casts a fresh light on Eliot's poetry'.[9]
Maxims by la Rochefoucauld (Bengali translation from French), 1990, 1997. Dey's Publishing, 2007.
The Apu Trilogy by Robin Wood (Bengali translation from English), 1992, Parul Edition, 2012.
The Tower and the Sea: Correspondence between Romain Rolland and Kalidas Nag 1922–1938 (Edited and French letters translated), Papyrus, 1996; Sahitya Akademi, 2010.
Shirno Toron [Strait is the Gate by André Gide] Sahitya Akademi, 1997, 2003, 2011.
George Dandin by Molière [co-translated with Arup Rudra and edited], Model Publications, 1998.
Chinmoy Guha with Le Clézio, the 2008 Nobel laureate in literature
Conjugation of French Verbs, Robert et Nathan, Tr. into English, W R Goyal, New Delhi, 2000.
Where the Dreams Cross: T S Eliot and French Poetry, Papyrus, 2000; Macmillan 2011.
Ahammaker Abhidhan [The Dictionary of Idiots] by Gustave Flaubert, Proma, 2001, Gangchil, 2007, 2009.
Danton: The Theatre of French Revolution by Romain Rolland, Anustup, 2002.
Victor Hugo: A Biography, Papyrus, 2003.
Kendra o Anupastithir Majkhane: An Anthology of French Poetry, Prativas, 2004.
Chilekothar Unmadini o Anyanya Prabandha, Ananda Publishers, 2007.
Remembering Sartre, co-edited with Sudeshna Chakravarti, Dasgupta and Co., 2007.
Time, Space, Text: Mapping Cultural Paradigms, co-edited with Tirtha Prasad Mukhopadhyay, University of Calcutta and UGC-Academic Staff College, 2008.
Anya Jalbatash Anya Dheu: An Anthology of Twentieth Century French Poetry, Deys Publishing, 2010.
Garho Sankher Khonje: A Collection of Essays, Ananda Publishers, January 2011.
Aaina Bhangte Bhangte, Conversations with Rabindra Kumar Dasgupta, Mrinal Sen, Badal Sircar, Father Detienne, P. Lal, Tapan Raychaudhuri, Sankha Ghosh, Dipendu Chakraborty, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. Gangchil, 2011.
Breaking the Silence: Virginia Woolf, Ashapurna Devi and Simone de Beauvoir, co-edited with Sanjukta Dasgupta, Dasgupta and co, 2011.
On the Seashore of Humanity: The Sesquicentenary Volume on Tagore, co-edited with Professor Biswanath Roy, Chief Editor: Professor Suranjan Das, University of Calcutta, 2012.
Connecting Texts: Literature, Theatre and Cinema, Co-edited with Sinjini Bandyopadhyay, Dasgupta and co, 2016.
Stage and Screen: Representations and Self-Discoveries, Co-edited with Sinjini Bandyopadhyay, Dasgupta and co, 2017.
Bridging East and West: Rabindranath Tagore and Romain Rolland Correspondence 1919-1940, Edited, introduced, annotated and French Letters Translated, Oxford University Press, 2018.
He Ananta Nakkhatrabithi, Signet Press-Ananda Publishers, 2018.
Bindu Theke Bindute, Parampara Prakashan, 2022.
Ek Akash Haiku, Parampara Prakashan, 2024.
Andha Aaina, Parampara Prakashan, 2024.
Articles in books
Voices from Bengal, An Anthology of Modern Poetry, (Ed. Sukanta Chaudhuri), Sahitya Akademi Kolkata, 1997.
Whatever I Write and have Written is You, An Anthology of Poems by Samarendra Sengupta, Cambridge Books, Kolkata, 1998.
"Man with the Lamp", Be Vocal in Times of Beauty, Ed. C. Venugopal, Writers Workshop, Kolkata, 2000.
André Gide's Introduction to his French Translation of Tagore's Gitanjali, Gitanjali, Bilingual Edition, Visva-Bharati and UBS, 2003.
"Out of Place: the Translator's Identity" in Poetry: Text and Context, UGC Academic Staff College and Department of English, University of Calcutta, 2004.
"The Return of the Dead: Laforgue and Eliot", in Phases of Twentieth Century Literature in English (Foreword. by Amiya Dev), Thakurpukur Vivekananda College, Kolkata, 2004.
Lessons on Lessons, Writers Workshop, Kolkata, 2005.
Chinmoy Guha with Romain Rolland's biographer Bernard Duchatelet
"Eliot-er Purbapurush", T S Eliot: Bangali Mon o Monone, Ed Tapas Basu, Pustak Bipani, Kolkata, 1991.
"The Golden Harp: Tagore and St-John Perse", Tagore and Modernity, University of Calcutta, Dasgupta & Co., Kolkata, 2006.
"Sunya Ainar Madhye", Anudito o Aunusari Bangla Sahitya, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, 2006.
"Alokeranjan Dasgupta" in Kritisches Lexikon der fremdsprachigen Gegenwartsliteratur: Indische Literatur der Gegenwart, Edition text+ kritik in Richard Boorberg Verlag GmbH & Co KG, Germany
Lines in Anger: Protest in Literature and literature of Protest, Sponsored by University Grants Commission, Gurudas College, 2006.
"Thy Infinite Gifts, Article on Tagore and St John Perse", Gitanjali, Parul Prakashani, Kolkata, September 2007.
Article in French: "En quête d'un nouvel espace: Romain Rolland et l'Inde" in L'Usage de L'Inde dans les littératures francaises et contemporaines (XIIIe –XXe siecles) la Société Internationale des Littératures de l'Ere Coloniale, Paris: Edition Kailash, 2008.
"Questioning the Frontiers: Rabindranath and Romain Rolland", Narrating the (Trans)Nation, University of Calcutta, Das Gupta and Co., Kolkata, 2008.
"Quest for an Alternative Discourse", 50 Years of Independence, Ed. Ananda Dasgupta, Gangchil, 2008.
Thots n Jots, UGC Academic Staff College, Calcutta University, 2009
Introduction, Duti Natak, Albert Camus, Tr. Palash Bhadra, Radiance, Kolkata, 2010.
"La Guirlande des beaux Accords", Romain Rolland: Une Oeuvre de Paix, Publications de la Sorbonne, Paris, June 2010.
"Rabindranath o Romain Rolland: Muchhe Jaoa Sanglap", Rabindranath: Vakpati Viswamana, Adviser: Sankha Ghosh, Ed.Sudhir Chakrabarty, Calcutta University and Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata, May 2011.
"Rabindranath o Romain Rolland", Rabindranath Thakur o Ekush Shataker Bangali, Burdwan University, Ed. Sumita Chakrabarty, May 2011.
"Romain Rolland and Annada Sankar Ray", Desh, Kal, Patra: Commemorative volume on Annada Sankar Ray, Sahitya Akademi, 2011.
"Tagore and Anna de Noailles", Avipshito Rabindranath, Ed. Rajatsuvro Mukhopadhyay, Deep Prakashani, 2012.
"Rabindranath Tagore and Romain Rolland: Crossing the Frontiers", in Tagore's Vision of the Contemporary World, Indian Council of Cultural Relations, and Har Anand, New Delhi, 2016.
"Esquisse d'une Grande Oeuvre: Romain Rolland et Tagore", in Romain Rolland et l'Inde: Un échange fructueux, Editions universitaires de Dijon, France, 2016.
"Bankimchandra: Natun ek Siharon", in Bangla Academy Patrika: Nirbachito Nibandha, Ed. Saoli Mitra, Paschimbanga Bangla Academy, 2017.
