The Fortieth Day

From the Bible to the Quaraan, the fortieth day symbolizes the last moment before deliverance, a moment in time when a supplicant or prophet or stormbeaten passenger knows there is no state “after,” but finally accepts the present state as a permanent one.

In *The Fortieth Day*, Kazim Ali follows the fractured narratives and moving lyrics of his debut collection, *The Far Mosque*, with a deeply spiritual and meditative book exploring the rhetoric of prayer.

**Kazim Ali** was born in the United Kingdom and raised in an Islamic household. He holds degrees from the University at Albany and New York University. He lives in Oberlin, Ohio.