ENCORES: "Silence and Breath" with Kaveh Akbar and Kazim Ali

Today we come together to gather some spiritual grounding through the reading, Silence and Breath, featuring the poets Kaveh Akbar and Kazim Ali. The O.B. Hardison Poetry Series welcomed Kaveh and Kazim to the stage of the Folger as they explored the relationship between poetry and prayer. These poets bring their faith to the front of their writing and the result is poetry, ripe with reflection, observation and meditation. Kaveh Akbar is the author of Portrait of the Alcoholic and Calling a Wolf a Wolf. Poet, essayist, and translator, Kazim Ali is the author of The Far Mosque, The Fortieth Day, Inquisition, and Orange Alert: Essays on Poetry, Art and the Architecture of Silence. The reading was co-sponsored with Kundiman, an organization that supports and sustains Asian-American poetry. Poet and Kundiman fellow, Gowri Koneswaran, joins us to introduce this powerfully spiritual ENCORES selection. Breathe in deeply as you experience the words of Kaveh Akbar and Kazim Ali.