poem

Andrew Frisardi is originally from Boston and now lives in northern Lazio, Italy, where he works as a writer, translator, and editor. His most recent books are an annotated translation of Dante’s Vita Nova, published by Northwestern University Press in 2012; The Young Dante and the One Love, essays on the Vita Nova published by the Temenos Academy (London) in 2013; and Death of a Dissembler, a poetry collection published in 2014 by White Violet Press.

Nur Jahan (1577 – 1645), was the favorite wife of the Mughal emperor Jahangir (1569 – 1627), and the aunt of Mumtaz Mahal, for whom the Taj Mahal was built. She was the most powerful woman in India during much of her husband’s reign. The language of the Mughal courts was Persian, and the writing of fluent Persian verse was an expected accomplishment of Mughal courtiers.

Dick Davis is Professor Emeritus of Persian at Ohio State University, where he was chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from 2002 to 2012. He has written scholarly works on both English and Persian literature, as well as eight volumes of his own poetry. His publications include volumes of poetry and verse translation chosen as books of the year by The Sunday Times (UK), 1989; The Daily Telegraph (UK), 1989; The Economist (UK), 2002; The Washington Post, 2010, and The Times Literary Supplement (UK), 2013.

Delmira Agustini was born on October 24, 1886, in Montevideo, Uruguay. She began to publish her work at an early age, and in her short life published three volumes of poetry: El libro blanco (Frágil) [The White Book—Fragile] (1907), Cantos de la mañana [Morning Songs] (1910), and Los calices vacíos [The Empty Chalices] (1913). An early modernista, Agustini was influenced both by the French Parnassians and the French symbolists.

Catherine Chandler was born in New York City, grew up in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and currently lives in Saint-Lazare, Quebec, and Punta del Este, Uruguay.