Breaking the Jaws of Silence

About

Through the support of PEN Center USA, Iranian American poet and translator Sholeh Wolpé has brought together sixty American poets to address the world through poems that not only meditate on the principles of freedom, justice, and tolerance but also boldly and directly address specific countries. Natasha Trethewey, Robert Bly, Rita Dove, Yusef Komunyakaa, Galway Kinnell, Philip Levine, Carolyn Forché, Billy Collins, Jorie Graham, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Quincy Troupe are just some of the poets whose work is gathered in this powerful new collection.

These poets speak out in the tradition of all poets who speak out in uprisings, seeking to change the landscape despite an environment of oppression, torture, and denial of basic human rights. All poems included were gifted to this anthology, which will benefit PEN Center USA’s Freedom to Write program.

Editor

Sholeh Wolpé is an Iranian-American poet and playwright. Named a “2020-2021 Cultural Trailblazer” by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Wolpé is the recipient of the 2014 PEN/Heim, 2013 Midwest Book Award, 2010 Lois Roth Persian Translation prize. Her most recent books include Keeping Time With Blue Hyacinth, The Conference of the Birds and Let Me In. Wolpé’s literary work number over twelve collections of poetry, books of translations, and anthologies, as well as several plays . She is the Writer-in-Residence at UC Irvine. More information: www.sholehwolpe.com

Praise

“A deeply humane and aesthetically exhilarating collection.”
—Robert Olen Butler, author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain

“A truly miraculous collection. Sholeh Wolpé has not only brought together some of the most prominent poets in the world today, she has created a work of both truth and beauty that gives voice to the voiceless across the globe.”
—Reza Aslan, author of No god but God and editor of Tablet & Pen