Kazim Ali
Coffee in Clarence Center (or: Coffee Shops I Have Known, Part 2)
My folks moved to Clarence, NY while I was away at college. There was always a room at 5445 Shadyside Drive that was “mine,” but I had never actually lived in it. When I–quite unexpectedly–dropped everything in Washington, DC and…
Coffee Shops I Have Known
Mahmoud Darwish wrote, “Coffee is the sister of time.” How true. For me, it’s best to drink coffee in the afternoon, after I have finished with my teaching responsibilities, after the room is swept, my chores completed, and there is…
Ramzan Notes, Late Morning, Day 29
Last night I was combing through websites trying to figure out if yesterday or today was the last day of fasting. Though it is still very traditional to observe the fast until the barest line of the first quarter moon…
Ramadan Notes, Late Evening, Day 28
Another day in bed. Granted, I was working the whole time. I had a pile of books, a manuscript, my laptop. I finished an essay I’m writing on the work of Agha Shahid Ali, I wrote emails to contributors of…
Ramadan Notes, Late Evening, Day 27
Today was a strange day. So close to the end of the month of fasting, I woke and did not eat balanced. I ate rice pudding made from brown rice with a little soy milk, I had a fake-meat hot…
