Persis Maryam Karim (born 1962)[1] is an American poet, essayist, editor, and educator.

She serves as the Neda Nobari Distinguished Chair and director of the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at San Francisco State University (SFSU) since 2017.

[1] Her father was an Iranian, born in Paris; her mother was French and had immigrated from Dijon, France.

[6][7][8][9] She was the youngest child in her family (with six siblings and two step-siblings), and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.

[4][12] From 1999 until 2017, Karim worked at San José State University, where she was a co-director of its Persian Studies Program.