Agha Shahid Ali 03-03-1993

Abstract

Stan Sanville Rubin interviews Agha Shahid Ali. Ali opens the conversation with reading a poem titled "The Correspondent" from his collection of poems "The Unveiled Suite". The first topic discussed is the form Ali uses since he has exhausted his relationship with free verse and how other writers have influenced the use of his newer form. Rubin asks Ali about his political lens and Ali describes his life and awareness when he was young and who surrounded him, influencing how he senses the world around him. He discusses how the atrocities in Kashmir don't get as much attention as the atrocities in Bosnia. He discusses the cultural differences between the American presentation of political writing where he explains why he doesn’t feel he needs to be rhetorical in his work in regard to his political views. He describes the difference between exile and expatriatism and what influences propelled him to choose to live and publish in the U.S. There is further discussion of what "home" is for Ali and how that played into the writing of "Searching for Evanescence" and "The Nostalgist's Map of America". Ali describes Urdu roots in his poetry in regard to song-like traits. The interview ends with Ali reading "The Resume" from "The Nostalgist's Map of America".