Sheema Kalbasi

Sheema Kalbasi (Persian: شیما کلباسی‎) was born in Tehran, Iran on 20 November 1972 and grew up in Pakistan and Denmark. She is a poet, filmmaker, researcher and rights activist.^[1]^[2] She lives in the United States.

Biography

Her poems have been anthologized and translated into eighteen languages to date. She has done voluntary teaching and tutoring of Baha'i refugee children, disadvantaged Pakistani children as well as Iraqi Kurdish children in Pakistan.^[3] Kalbasi has worked for the UNHCR and the Center for Refugees in Pakistan, and in Denmark.

In 2009 she signed an open letter of apology posted to Iranian.com along with 266 other Iranian academics, writers, artists, journalists about the Persecution of Bahá'ís.^[4]

Books

The Poetry of Iranian Women ^[5] (Editor, Reelcontent Publishing, 2008)
Seven Valleys of Love,^[6] a bilingual anthology of women poets from Middle Ages Persia to present day Iran (Translator, Editor, Phoenix Rising Arts Publishing, 2008)
Echoes in Exile ^[7] (Phoenix Rising Arts Publishing, 2006)
Sangsar (The Stoning, Sinbad Publishing, 2005)

Awards

Human Rights Award and Recognition, Center for Refugees, UNHCR, Islamabad, Pakistan
Hezbollah, from Echoes in Exile, Best Poem, Harvest International.
The Passenger, Third place, Jerseyworks.

Nominations

Echoes in Exile, Collection, Annual Library of Virginia Literary Award, 2008.
Echoes in Exile,^[8] Pushcart Prize, 2008.
Seven Valleys of Love, The PEN Award for Poetry In Translation, 2008.
Seven Valleys of Love, Anisfield-wolf Book Award, 2008.

External links

References