"Some poetry collections charm the reader; others can chill the reader. And then there are collections like Rain and Embers, which ask you to travel along on a journey of fleeing death and destruction, living in refugee camps that often belie the name, and arriving in an alien land that offers physical safety but often demands that you change who you are. And you’re not sure what you’re supposed to be changing from." - Glynn Young, Tweetspeak Poetry

"[Rain and Embers'] experimental techniques--dashes within words; words spelled out vertically and partial acrostics for emphasis; crossed out words--prompt powerful responses. Recurring motifs include event horizons and black holes, creation and destruction, light and dark, and fire and water, framing these personal poems in a broader way and viewing events through philosophical and metaphysical lenses. The poems make use of elevating techniques including alliteration and assonance. Their word choices are emotive and lean, and powerful metaphors are used to convey experiences in an evocative way." - Joseph S. Pete, Foreword Reviews

“Home is not where you hang your hat but where your heart is (or wants to be). We are all too familiar with immigrants who have had their human rights taken from them as they leave one country and move to another. While this is Ali’s story, it is also the universal story about the desire to survive and about self-acceptance. Ali grabs us by promising to share his story but we are not quite ready for the depth to which he goes.” - Amos Lassen, Reviews by Amos Lassen

“Nuri has an unpretentious poetic sense whose verse transmutes the pain and displacement of the immigrant into beauty and an invitation to the universal of the friend.” - Robert Tenor, Scriptable

"[Rain and Embers] is 190 pages of deeply personal and captivating poems, each examining his own struggles and triumphs while providing a distinct glimpse into the New American experience." - Jonathan Burdick, Erie Reader

“Rain and Embers encapsulates the human condition—one where a sense of belonging is elusive amidst an ever-changing landscape. Above all, Rain and Embers is an exploration of fractured identities, acceptance, and finding a place to call home.” - Dr. Meira Yasin, Miss Muslim

“His talent lifts each page and the words situated on it to tell a vivid story about identity, belonging and displacement as well as exploring love and what it’s like to live in our twenty-first century world.” - Kristiana Reed, Reedsy Discovery

“This young poet, this artist with a tender heart and a cold, insecure perch among us, gifts us all with his most intimate thoughts and observations. Make no mistake: Outsiders are the best poets. Ali Nuri's eyes are looking at the same landscape your eyes are, fellow Americans and foreign readers, but they're seeing what those not here and those whose place here is unquestioned can not see.” - Richard Derus, Expendable Mudge Muses Aloud

“Excellent word choice and use of metaphors highlight the main themes of the poetic story. Ali Nuri also makes use of line breaks, spacing and even intentionally crossed out words to add emotion to the verses.” - Steve Quade, Indies Today