Sholeh Wolpé

is a poet, writer, and librettist. She was born in Iran, writes in English, translates from Persian and lives in Los Angeles and Barcelona. Her body of work spans seven collections of poetry, several plays, five books of translations and three anthologies, as well as texts and librettos for the choir and opera. Presently, she is the Writer-In-Residence at the University of California, Irvine. Her acclaimed translations include, The Invisible Sun (Harper Collins, 2025) selected by S&P as one the most Spiritual Books of 2025 and long-listed for 2026 PEN Translation Prize, and The Conference of the Birds (W.W. Norton, 2017), both by the 12th century Iranian Sufi mystic poet Attar, as well as Sin-Selected Poems of Forugh Farrokhzad (recipient of Lois Roth Translation Award) by the 20th century Iranian rebel poet. Her award-winning translations have established her as a celebrated re-creator of Persian poetry into English. Wolpé’s recent poetry collection includes Abacus of Loss- A Memoir in Verse (University of Arkansas Press, 2022) and its bilingual Spanish edition, Ábaco de la Pérdida (Visor Libros, España, 2025.) Her latest
work of prose, “Eye For An Eye”, appears in Iran +100: Stories from a Century After the Coup (Comma Press, UK, 2025.) Her TEDx talk, Are you seeking attention or transformation? is now available on YOUTUBE.