Fatemeh Shams

She previously taught Persian literature and language at Oxford University, Courtauld Institute of Art, Somerset House, and School of Oriental and African Studies in London, UK.

[6] Born in 1983 in Mashhad, Shams started to write poetry at the age of 14 under the influence of poets such as Simin Behbahani, Mehdi Akhavan-Sales, Esmail Khoi.

She later moved to Oxford University, Oriental Institute to complete her doctorate in the field of Iranian studies where she also taught Persian language and literature and published her first poems in English.

She has been a well-known female dissident poet.Since 2009 as a result of the controversial presidential election, she has been forced to live in exile following the arrest of her immediate family members (her sister and ex-husband) by the Iranian authorities.

Womanhood, Life in exile, migration, politics, war, human relationships, gender issues, and socio-political taboos are among the leading themes in her works.

The history of cultural organizations in the post-revolution period as well as the role taken by the state in literary production have been amongst her main academic interests in the past few years.