The Profound Daily
The daily is often consigned to the marginal. Throughout history the voices of women, if they were heard at all, were heard not in novels or poems or other accepted genres of literature, but in letters, diaries, daybooks, to-do lists, cookbooks, or the like. Contemporary writers like Anaïs Nin, Annie Ernaux, and Teju Cole have shown how the daily and ordinary, when shaped and defined, can create the finest of art. In this workshop, whether in essay, memoir, or other form of prose, we will use the ordinary and daily around us to explore and reveal the deep, painful, and ecstatic experiences of any ordinary life.
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, including several volumes of poetry, novels, and translations. 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: Power, Land, and the Memory of Water.