Agha Shahid Ali
Agha Shahid Ali (
1949-
2001) was an English poet of
Kashmiri ancestry and upbringing.
His poetry collections include
The Half-Inch Himalayas,
A Nostalgist's Map of America,
The Country Without a Post Office,
Rooms Are Never Finished (finalist for the National Book Award, 2001). His last book was
Call Me Ishmael Tonight, a collection of English
ghazals.
Ali was also a translator of
Faiz Ahmed Faiz (
The Rebel's Silhouette; Selected Poems) and editor (
Ravishing DisUnities: Real Ghazals in English). He was widely credited for helping to popularize the ghazal form in America.
Ali taught at the
MFA Program for Poets & Writers at
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, as well as creative writing programs at
University of Utah,
Warren Wilson College and
New York University. He died of brain cancer in December, 2001. He was laid to rest in
Northampton, Massachusetts.
*Agha Shahid Ali at the
Academy of American Poets*Brief biography at the
University of Massachusetts*Agha Shahid Ali prize at the
University of Utah*Ali reads "The Purse-Seiner Atlantis," from the
Paris Review*Amitav Ghosh reminiscing about Agha Shahid Ali at [
1]
