Haleh Liza Gafori

Vocalist, Poet, Educator

Haleh Liza Gafori is a New York City-born translator, performance artist, writer, and educator of Persian descent. A 2024 MacDowell fellow, she has translated the poetry of the Persian mystic and sage Rumi. Her book of translations entitled Gold: Poems by Rumi, was published by New York Review Books in 2022. Gafori’s second volume of translations, Water: Poems by Rumi, will be released in April 2025, also by NYRB Classics. Supported by an NYSCA grant, Gafori has created a musical and cross-media performance based on the book and has presented her work, via performances and lectures and workshops, at institutions such as Lincoln Center, Stanford University, the Academy of American Poets, and Sarah Lawrence College. Her book of translations Gold has been incorporated in the curricula of universities across the country.