Sheema Kalbasi

Sheema Kalbasi is an Iranian-Danish-American poet, writer, filmmaker, humanitarian, and historian whose work spans themes of war, exile, feminism, and freedom of expression.
Born in Tehran and raised in Pakistan and Denmark, she has worked with the UNHCR, the Center for Refugees in Pakistan, and UNA Denmark, where she also trained and served as a defense soldier. A two-time Pushcart Prize nominee and a nominee for the PEN Award for Poetry in Translation, Kalbasi has received a United Nations humanitarian award and grants from the Netherlands' Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Her poetry has been translated into more than twenty languages, featured in PEN America and NPR, and performed at venues including the Tribute World Trade Center and the Smithsonian National Museum.
She is the author of several books, including Echoes in Exile and Spoon and Shrapnel: Verse and Wartime Recipes; editor of The Poetry of Iranian Women and Seven Valleys of Love; and a vocal critic of totalitarian regimes and systemic oppression. Kalbasi’s advocacy and poetry speak against censorship, gender apartheid, underage marriage, and the silencing of marginalized voices.