Books by Sholeh Wolpe

"In a world where cultures and religions are recklessly facing off, Sholeh Wolpé writes careful poems that cast a light on some of what we all hold in common."

— Billy Collins, U.S. Poet Laureate (2001-2003)

Sholeh Wolpé's poems are political, satirical, and unflinching in the face of war, tyranny and loss. Talismanic and alchemical, they attempt to transmute experience into the magic of the imagined. But they also dare to be tender and funny lyrical moments.

— Chris Abani, author of Graceland, and Becoming Abigail

Maligned and admired in her all-too-brief life, demonized and eventually banned soon after the Islamic Revolution, Forugh Farrokhzad is a literary icon and guru in Iran today.  Her poetry, like the response it elicited, is a perfect metaphor for a society in transition.

Sholeh Wolpé’s selection of poems and the lush lucidity of her translation convey the quickly evolving and the richly paradoxical nature of Farrokhzad's poetry.  It is a welcome addition to the slim body of literary translations available in the U.S.                  

— Farzaneh Milani
Director of Studies in Women and Gender and Professor of Persian and Women Studies at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, and author of  "Veils and Words: The Emerging Voice of Iranian Women Writers"