Kazim Ali (born April 5, 1971) is an American poet, novelist, essayist, and professor. His most recent books are ''Inquisition'' (

Wesleyan University Press Wesleyan University Press is a university press that is part of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. The press is currently directed by Suzanna Tamminen, a published poet and essayist. History and overview Founded (in its present for ...

, 2018) and ''All One's Blue'' (Harper Collins India, 2016). His honors include an Individual Excellence Award from the

Ohio Arts Council The Ohio Arts Council (OAC) is an agency serving the U.S. state of Ohio. History Established in 1965, its mission is to "foster and encourage the development of the arts and assist the preservation of Ohio's cultural heritage." Each year it award ...

. His poetry and essays have been featured in many literary journals and magazines including ''The American Poetry Review'', ''Boston Review'', ''Barrow Street'', ''Jubilat'', ''The Iowa Review'', ''

West Branch West Branch may refer to: Communities * West Branch, Iowa, city in Cedar and Johnson counties * West Branch, Michigan, city in Ogemaw County * West Branch, New Brunswick, in the Local Service District of Weldford Parish * West Branch River John, i ...

'' and ''Massachusetts Review'', and in anthologies including '' The Best American Poetry 2007''.

Life

He was born in the UK to parents of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n descent, and raised in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Kazim Ali received a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature from the

University at Albany The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is one ...

, and an MFA in creative writing from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. In 2003, he co-founded the independent press

Nightboat Books Nightboat Books is an American nonprofit literary press founded in 2004 and located in Brooklyn, New York. The press publishes poetry, fiction, essays, translations, and intergenre books. History The press was founded in 2004 by Kazim Ali and ...

, served as its publisher from 2004 to 2007, and currently serves as a founding editor. Ali is professor of literature and creative Writing at

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

and has taught in the

Stonecoast MFA Program in Creative Writing The Stonecoast MFA Program in Creative Writing is a graduate program in creative writing based at the University of Southern Maine in Portland, Maine, United States. Stonecoast enrolls approximately 100 students in four major genres: creative non ...

at the

University of Southern Maine The University of Southern Maine (USM) is a public university with campuses in Portland, Gorham and Lewiston in the U.S. state of Maine. It is the southernmost of the University of Maine System. It was founded as two separate state universitie ...

. Previously, he taught in the Liberal Arts Department of The Culinary Institute of America, at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, at Monroe College, and at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

Awards and honors

*2014 Ohioana Book Award in poetry for ''Sky Ward'' *2014

Best Translated Book Award The Best Translated Book Award is an American literary award that recognizes the previous year's best original translation into English, one book of poetry and one of fiction. It was inaugurated in 2008 and is conferred by Three Percent, the onlin ...

, Poetry, one of two runners-up for ''The Oasis of Now'' by

Sohrab Sepehri Sohrab Sepehri ( fa, سهراب سپهری; October 7, 1928 – April 21, 1980) was a notable Iranian poet and painter. He is considered to be one of the five most famous Iranian poets who have practiced modern poetry alongside Nima Youshij, A ...

, translated from the Persian by Kazim Ali and Mohammad Jafar Mahallati *2009 Individual Excellence Award from the

Published works

Poetry * ''The Far Mosque'' (

Alice James Books Alice James Books is an American non-profit poetry press located in Farmington, Maine and affiliated with the University of Maine at Farmington. History and mission "Alice James Books was founded as a co-operative press in Cambridge, MA in 19 ...

, 2005) * ''The Fortieth Day'' ( BOA Editions, Ltd., 2008) * ''Bright Felon'' (

, 2009) * ''Sky Ward'' (

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles W ...

, 2013) * ''All One's Blue'' ( Harper Collins India, 2016) * ''Inquisition'' (Wesleyan University Press, 2018) Fiction * ''Quinn’s Passage'' (

BlazeVOX Books BlazeVOX Books, often stylized as BlazeVOX ooks'', is an independent publisher founded by Geoffrey Gatza and based in Buffalo, New York. Since 2000, it has published more than 350 books of poetry and prose, most of which fall within the sphere ...

, 2004) * ''The Disappearance of Seth'' (

Etruscan Press Etruscan Press is an American publisher founded in 2001 with a grant from the Oristaglio Foundation. Housed at Wilkes University and partnering with Youngstown State University Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public ...

, 2009) * ''Wind Instrument'' (

Spork Press Spork Press is a small press in Tucson, Arizona edited and constructed by Richard Siken, Drew Burk, Andrew Shuta, Joel Smith, and Jake Levine. Beginning in 2001, it began publishing a quarterly literary magazine called ''Spork'', which is often bo ...

, 2014) * ''Uncle Sharif's Life in Music'' (

Sibling Rivalry Press Sibling Rivalry Press is a small press publishing house based in Little Rock, Arkansas founded by Bryan Borland in 2010. It features both online and print components as well as the non-profit SRP Foundation, which financially supports the arts. ...

, 2016) * ''The Secret Room'' (

Kaya Press Kaya Press is an independent non-profit publisher of writers of the Asian and Pacific Islander diaspora. Founded in 1994 by the postmodern Korean writer Soo Kyung Kim, Kaya Press is currently housed in the Department of American Studies and Ethnic ...

, 2017) Nonfiction * ''Orange Alert: Essays on Poetry, Art and the Architecture of Silence'' (

University of Michigan Press The University of Michigan Press is part of Michigan Publishing at the University of Michigan Library. It publishes 170 new titles each year in the humanities and social sciences. Titles from the press have earned numerous awards, including L ...

, 2010) * ''Fasting for Ramadan: Notes on a Spiritual Practice'' (

Tupelo Press Tupelo Press is an American not-for-profit literary press founded in 1999. It produced its first titles in 2001, publishing poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Originally located in Dorset, Vermont, the press has since moved to North Adams, Massachus ...

, 2011) * ''Resident Alien: On Border-Crossing and the Undocumented Divine'' (University of Michigan Press, 2015) * ''

Anaïs Nin Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell (February 11, 1903 – January 14, 1977; , ) was a French-born American diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of short stories and erotica. Born to Cuban parents in France, Nin was the d ...

: An Unprofessional Study'' ( Agape Editions, 2017) * ''Silver Road: Essays, Maps & Calligraphies'' (Tupelo Press, 2018) *''Northern Light: Power, Land, and the Memory of Water'' (

Goose Lane Editions Goose Lane Editions is a Canadian book publishing company founded in 1954 in Fredericton, New Brunswick as Fiddlehead Poetry Books by Fred Cogswell and a group of students and faculty from the University of New Brunswick associated with ''The Fid ...

Milkweed Editions Milkweed Editions is an independent nonprofit literary publisher that originated from the ''Milkweed Chronicle'' literary and arts journal established in Minneapolis in 1979. The journal ceased and the business transitioned to publishing. It relea ...

, 2021) Translations * ''Water's Footfall,'' Poems of Sohrab Sepehri, translated by Kazim Ali and Mohammad Jafar Mahallati ( Omnidawn Press, 2011). . * ''The Oasis of Now,'' Poems of Sohrab Sepehri, translated from the Persian by Kazim Ali and Mohammad Jafar Mahallati (

BOA Kwon Bo-ah (; born November 5, 1986), known professionally as BoA, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer and actress. One of the most successful and influential Korean entertainers, she has been dubbed the " Queen of K- ...

, 2013). . * ''L'Amour'' by

Marguerite Duras Marguerite Germaine Marie Donnadieu (, 4 April 1914 – 3 March 1996), known as Marguerite Duras (), was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker. Her script for the film ''Hiroshima mon amour'' (1959) ea ...

(

Open Letter Books Open Letter Books is an American publishing house based at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York. It was founded in 2008 by Chad W. Post, the Editor-in-Chief of Dalkey Archive Press. It specializes in translation, a less-populated ...

, 2013) * ''Abahn Sabana David'' by Marguerite Duras (Open Letter Books, 2016)

Anthologies

* ''Mad Heart Be Brave: Essays on the Poetry of Agha Shahid Ali'' (

, 2017)

References

Sources

Oberlin College: Creative Writing Department > Faculty Bio > Kazim Ali

Author Website

External links

Video: Poetry Reading by Kazim Ali/Two short poems

Audio: Kazim Ali Reading for Fishousepoems.org

Essay: National Book Critics Circle Blog > Small Press Spotlight: Kazim Ali > ''A mini-essay: A Brief Poetics: to Layla Al-Attar'' > August 16, 2008

Essay: Poetry Foundation Blog Posting of ''Poetry Is Dangerous'' > By Kazim Ali

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110708054833/http://nelsonpoetry.blogspot.com/2011/06/interview-with-kazim-ali-on-far-mosque.html Under A Warm Green Linden: Interview with Kazim Ali on The Far Mosque {{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Kazim Poets from Ohio Novelists from Ohio New York University alumni University at Albany, SUNY alumni Living people Oberlin College faculty 21st-century American novelists 1971 births American novelists of Indian descent Muslim writers American Muslims American male novelists 21st-century American poets American male poets American male essayists 21st-century American essayists 21st-century American male writers American LGBT poets American LGBT novelists LGBT Muslims American gay writers