The Far Mosque

by Kazim Ali

These gently fragmented narrative lyrics pursue enlightenment in long, elegant yet plain-spoken, dark yet ecstatic lines. Ali travels by water and by night, seeking the Far Mosque and its overarching paradox: that when God and Self are one, an ascent into Heaven is a voyage within.

Genres: Poetry, LGBT

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Kazim Ali was born in the United Kingdom and has lived transnationally in the United States, Canada, India, France, and the Middle East. His books encompass multiple genres, includingthe volumes of poetry Inquisition, Sky Ward, winner of the Ohioana Book Award in Poetry; The Far Mosque, winner of Alice James Books’ New England/New York Award; The Fortieth Day; All One’s Blue; and the cross-genre texts Bright Felon and Wind Instrument. His novels include the recently published The Secret Room: A String Quartet and among his books of essays are the hybrid memoir Silver Road: Essays, Maps & Calligraphies and Fasting for Ramadan: Notes from a Spiritual Practice. He is also an accomplished translator (of Marguerite Duras, Sohrab Sepehri, Ananda Devi, Mahmoud Chokrollahi and others) and an editor of several anthologies and books of criticism. After a career in public policy and organizing, Ali taught at various colleges and universities, including Oberlin College, Davidson College, St. Mary's College of California, and Naropa University. He is currently a Professor of Literature at the University of California, San Diego. His newest books are a volume of three long poems entitled The Voice of Sheila Chandra and a memoir of his Canadian childhood, Northern Light.

Author photo by Tanya Rosen-Jones from Kazim Ali's press kit.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Transcendent and powerful with flashes of Rumi - Kazim Ali points out that the far mosque is found within - and needs to be unlocked by keys found in the heart.

[David Anthony Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kazim Ali's collection of poetry are shaped by their own growth and search for meaning. Though often in fragments or snippets rather than any classical form, their have shape and are accessible as they are rich in an eloquence that is often epigrammatic:

"When a Scholar pauses by a closed door
She may not be listening to the music, but to the door"

"Carry what you can in your hands. Scatter the rest."

There is a humble humanity and a deep compassion in Ali's words. As mush as this collection reflects the diaspora of language and people in our post-post-Modern world, there is hope and a sense of the unity of being:

"Then the gray-green sky came down in breaths to my lips and sipped me."

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it.
"A poet is someone who can pour light into a cup
and then raise it to nourish your beautiful--
perhaps parched--holy mouth." (Hafiz)
Drink up this book!

[Alex Garrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally unlike what I typically read (and write) but totally enjoyable for it. The breathy, throughly modern evocation of Sufism in "Dear Rumi" and "Hunger" alone was worth the time in reading the book.

[Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who doesn't generally like poetry, I found this fantastic. Ali's poetry is beautiful and intense.

[Cynthia Arrieu-King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure why it took me this long to read this book. A sublime thing.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why not be an acolyte of the twisting ribbon of river?
Said: In the Rain

These moments against the years you cannot believe.

This hover of music winging down from the mountains
you cannot believe.

But here in the trees, here above the river, here as the season
stitches itself into fog then frost, you will.

Here as you unfold, unsummon, uncry, you will.

Unopened, you will. Unhappen, you will.

These moments against the years you will.

Unmoment you will.


The Return of Music


Be gray here, be broken and strafed, fully roused and drawn here,
like a compass needle, find yourself bound and unintelligible
The River's Address


all night: sounds/Violet's brief engines
Gallery

cloud me down with the river edged with willow
The River Cloud

When a Scholar passes by a closed door
She may not be listening to the music, but to the door

What lingers in the letter, loosening or found
Sky-name - wood-wind - syllable - sound

Source

[Stephen Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really don't know how you go about reviewing poetry ... I mean, you can't really talk about the quality of the plot, the characters, etc. It really comes down (at least more so than with works of non-fiction and novels) to "I liked it / I didn't like it", right?

This is a relatively short collection, with quality that ranged from near-brilliant to "self-published college poetry book". The works that were good were very good, though, and made it all worth reading.

[Paolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intense lyric, ekphrastic, and ecstatic book. Love it.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful, introspective and contemplative. Glad I took the time to read it.

[Nicola · Rating 4 out of 5]

A voluptuous, metaphor-laden, spiritualized lyric. Ali takes many risks and reaps many rewards.

[Olivia]

wish i had read this maybe in a different way, but ultimately either way it would not have struck me as deeply as Bright Felon did... like that book was so amazing. I couldn't make sense of a lot of these poems, whcih is fine, but i didn't super feel connected to the way they were breaking over me either - but there were some poems which I LOVED. I am always so in awe of the voice in Kazim Ali's poems. it is just so so moving, so removed but so present, like it's what I want to do. I think it shines the most in his work that's more prosey, sentencey, & grounded in reality like in Bright Felon, and those were the poems i loved the most in this book

[A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am trying to read a book by each of the headline poets for the 2017 Mass Poetry Festival in May, and I started with this one. I personally found the fragmentation sometimes hard to follow, but there were some really fabulous lines and images in this collection, and it was a fascinating blend of Western culture and Islam.

[Khadija Mohideen · Rating 2 out of 5]

idk man