Kazim Ali – a poet, essayist, fiction writer and translator – was born in the United Kingdom to parents of Indian descent and raised in Canada and the United States. His books include several volumes of poetry, including The Far Mosque (winner of Alice James Books' New England/New York Award), The Fortieth Day (BOA Editions, 2008), and the cross-genre text Bright Felon: Autobiography and Cities (Wesleyan University Press, 2009). Ali is an associate professor of creative writing and comparative literature at Oberlin College and teaches in the masters of fine arts program of the University of Southern Maine.
His poetry was recently featured on National Public Radio’s “Poetry Olympics” as the entry for the United States.