Sholeh Wolpé

Sholeh Wolpé—(Poetry Editor) Sholeh Wolpé is an Iranian-born poet, writer, and librettist. Her most recent books include a new translation of 12^thcentury Sufi mystic poet Attar, The Invisible Sun (Harper Collins) and a memoir in verse, Abacus of Loss (Univ. of Arkansas Press). The memoir is also available from Visor Libros in a bilingual edition. Sholeh’s literary work includes seven collections of poetry, several plays, five books of translations and three anthologies, as well as texts and librettos for choir and opera. Her translations of The Conference of the Birds (W.W. Norton, 2017) and of Forugh Farrokhzad, the rebel poet of Iran in Sin (Univ. of Arkansas Press) have garnered awards and established Wolpé as a celebrated re-creator of Iranian literature. Her opera, Nava Avaz, was a 2025 recipient of Opera America Discovery Award.  She has lived and studied in Iran, Trinidad, the UK and U.S. Presently she is the Writer-In-Residence at UCI and divides her time between California and Barcelona.  For more information about her work visit her website. You’ll also find her on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.