Abdul Ali was born in Mt. Pleasant, NY but raised in New York City. Ali is a two-time recipient of the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities' Literature fellowship. He was a fellow at American University where he received his M.F.A in Creative Writing. His poems have appeared in Gargoyle, A Gathering of Tribes, New Contrast, and the anthology Full Moon on K Street, among other literary journals and magazines. He currently teaches at Towson University and lives in Maryland with his family.