Northern Light

“A powerful, thoughtful, and beautifully written exploration of the narratives that we create and that are created for us.”

“Ali moves from writing a memoir to something else, something larger than the story of one person, one family, or even one place … Northern Light transcends any one of these categorizations to become something much larger than the sum of its parts, a provocative consideration of what it means to belong to a place—and whether or not a place can ever belong to a person.”

“This lyrical memoir is a balm for the soul.”

“Embedded in [Northern Light] … is the higher call to slow down and pay close attention to the injustices wrought upon the people of Cross Lake, including, as a result, its troubled youth. And to truly feel what it’s like to be there, to reclaim a land that possesses you in return.”

“One of Northern Light’s greatest strengths is Ali’s ability to weave between his personal connection to the land and the history of the people who call it home … Ali’s gift as a writer is the way he is able to present his story in a way that brings attention to the myriad issues facing Indigenous communities, from oil pipelines in the Dakotas to border walls running through Kumeyaay land.”

“Ali’s ethical imaginary is as finely honed and illuminating as his prose … What a privilege his fine book is, what a joy to spend a week in Cross Lake beside Ali.”

“Ali’s prose shines when recalling his interactions with members of the Pimicikamak community and friends. Those concerned with environmental justice or the plight of Indigenous peoples will want to give this a look.”

“In Northern Light … [Ali grapples] with his family’s legacy as both victims and perpetrators of stolen land. On every page, he tries to decipher what it means to be ‘from’ a place, crafting a poetic exploration of home, assimilation, and belonging.”

“By carrying us along on his journey to understand his love for a place, and by refusing to extract the ‘truth’ of tragedy from what he encounters, Ali draws readers into his own complicity, his own complex, frustrated love. We get invested in a community that is trying to work past centuries of colonial trauma, to give their kids a home worth living for. As a reader, I developed an amazed respect for every individual described so delicately within these pages.”

“Kazim Ali, an acute observer and listener, has helped bring voices of the Cross Lake community into our hearing. In this latest book, he shines some northern light over essential questions about identity, power, governance, and justice for all peoples.”

“[Ali’s] experiences are relayed in sensitive, crystalline prose, documenting how Cross Lake residents are working to reinvent their town and rebuild their traditional beliefs, language, and relationships with the natural world … Though these topics are complex, they are untangled in an elegant manner.”

“A world traveler, not always by choice, ponders the meaning and location of home … Ali alerts readers to the First Nations’ struggles to fend off an open-pit titanium mine, a gas pipeline, and other water projects, taking care to include many Indigenous voices … A graceful, elegant account even when reporting on the hard truths of a little-known corner of the world.”

“A beautiful and meditative burst of recollections and reconciliations. Blending together the indigenous history of the region with his own past and present experiences was no small feat, but Ali pulled it off with poetic precision.”

“Ali, known as a poet, brings his poetic sensibility to his literary reportage and descriptions of Cross Lake … The result is prose that brings lyrical beauty, dignity, and life to a place that has not received the respect it rightly deserves … Northern Light complicates our preconceived definitions of home, belonging, and identity, begging the reader to make every visit to their hometown a more nuanced, and perhaps more generous, experience.”

This lyrical tale of reconnection and self discovery deserves all the attention it can get.”

“Ali’s book grapples with place, ecosystem, ‘home,’ and how sometimes home is not an identifiable place. Through Ali’s memories of living near the Nelson River in Canada, he discusses the survivance of a community and concerns of exploitation and colonialism … I’ve already learned so much regarding this community and place I had not known of before.”

“Reading Ali is an act of redemption even when the worst is spiked and wired with hatred and danger. His perspective on time is both a challenge and a balm.”

“Ali’s lyrics are crafted with a controlled, delicate quality that never stops questioning, never stops teaching, never stops astounding.”

“Lyrical, political, humorous, light and deep—Kazim Ali strikes out in many directions… . The resulting harmonies—and even the discord—are beautiful.”

“A master of so many genres and forms—poetry, fiction, essay, memoir—Ali seems to manage the ultimate feat: to slip free from the limitations of these categories.”

“Purchase [Northern Light] for Ali’s gorgeous metaphors and well-paced prose.”

“Northern Light is Ali’s writerly effort to grapple with his and his family’s history in a remote community in Canada. He recounts the formative years he spent on Indigenous lands as the child of Indian immigrants, learning about the impact of his father’s work on a dam on both the people and the environment in Jenpeg. The story he tells — of beautiful people, a unique community, and settler colonial dynamics — is an important and powerful one. The poet’s voice is evident in some of the most resonant passages, shaping the story Ali tells in wondrous ways.”