William Radice was born in London in 1951, and has pursued a double career as a poet and as a scholar and translator of Bengali. Known particularly for his translations of the poems, short stories and plays of Tagore, he has also published six books of his own poetry. In India, his fortnightly 'Letter from England' for the statesman has made him prominent as a journalist, and in his own country he is known for his broadcasts and for public readings of his work. He is keenly interested in music and opera, and has also translated from German. Since 1988 he has lectured in Bengali at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and from 1999 to 2002 was Head of the Departments of South and South East Asia. Author or editor of nearly thirty books, other recent publications have included Myths and Legends of India, A Hundred Letters from England and Traces of My Father, a translation of an autobiographical novel by the German writer Sigfrid Gauch.