Sheema Kalbasi (born 20 November 1972, in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, Iran; fa, ) is an Iranian-born American poet and writer on issues of feminism, war, refugees, human rights, a filmmaker on women’s issues, Sharia Law, freedom of expression and an activist for women's rights, minorities rights, children's rights, human rights and refugees' rights. She grew up in Pakistan and Denmark, and now lives in the United States.

Biography

Sheema taught refugee children and worked for the

UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

and the Center for Refugees in Pakistan, and UNA 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 Baháʼís Persecution of Baháʼís occurs in various countries, especially in Iran, where the Baháʼí Faith originated and where one of the largest Baháʼí populations in the world is located. The origins of the persecution stem from a variety of Ba ...

. Her poems have been anthologized and translated into more than 20 languages. In 2012, LGen the Hon. Roméo Dallaire, Senator from Quebec, Canada, closed his speech on the situation in Iran with sections from Kalbasi's poem Hezbollah. A winner of Harvest International, the poem has also been anthologized and published amongst others in The Forbidden: Poems from Iran and its Exiles, the ''

Atlanta Review ''Atlanta Review'' is an international poetry journal based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded by Daniel Veach in 1994 and is published twice a year. Karen Head of the Georgia Institute of Technology became editor in 2016. The jou ...

'', and Iranian and Diasporic Literature in the 21st Century: A Critical Study by Dr. Daniel Grassian. In 2008 her poem The Passenger was selected and performed at Tribute World Trade Center, NY. Her poems Possession and Dancing Tango were set to music as an art song for mezzo-soprano and piano and performed at Old Dominion University, Virginia. in 2016.

Books

* ''The Poetry of Iranian Women'' (Editor, Reelcontent Publishing, 2008) * ''Seven Valleys of Love'', a bilingual anthology of women poets from Middle Ages Persia to present-day Iran (Translator, Editor, PRA Publishing, 2008) * ''Echoes in Exile'' (PRA Publishing, 2006) * ''Sangsar'' (The Stoning, Sinbad Publishing, 2005)

Filmography

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, Jersey works. Nominations * Echoes in Exile, Collection, Annual Library of Virginia Literary Award, 2008. * Echoes in Exile,

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

, 2008. * Seven Valleys of Love, The PEN Award for Poetry In Translation, 2008. * Seven Valleys of Love, Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, 2008.

References

External links

*
Tehelka Interview

The Diplomat Interview

Take Part Interview

Sheema Kalbasi

ICORN The International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN) is an independent organisation of cities and regions which offers shelter to writers, journalists and artists at risk of persecution, with the goal of advancing freedom of expression. History It ...