Bio

Sholeh Wolpé is an Iranian-born poet, playwright and librettist. Her literary work includes 6 collections of poetry, several plays, 3 books of translations, and 3 anthologies. Her most recent book, Abacus of Loss, is hailed by Ilya Kaminsky as a book “that created its own genre—a thrill of lyric combined with the narrative spell.”

Wolpé’s translations of Sufi mystic poet, Attar, “The Conference of the Birds” (Norton), and Farrokhzad, “Sin: Selected Poems of Forugh Farrokhzad” (UARK) have garnered awards and established her as a celebrated re-creator of Persian poetry into English.

Wolpé wrote the libretto for an oratorio “The Conference of the Birds” and a multi-genre piece, “The Seven Valleys”, which premiered at The Broad Stage and The Getty Villa Museum in
2022.

Wolpé is the recipient of a PEN Heim, Midwest Book Award and Lois Roth Persian Translation prize. Her plays have been finalists and semifinalists at major US festivals.

Wolpé has written for prominent composers and has performed her literary work with world-renowned musicians at venues worldwide.

She has lived in Iran, Trinidad and the UK, and presently divides her time between Los Angeles and Barcelona. Wolpé is the poetry editor of The Markaz Review and is presently a Writer-in-Residence at the University of California, Irvine. website: www.sholehwolpe.com