Hafiz of Shiraz (also known as Hafez) remains the most beloved name in all of Persian literature. Indeed, his mystic, lyric poetry is cherished as one of the great achievements of world literature, on a par with Dante, Goethe, and Shakespeare. Where Rumi dives deep, Hafiz's vision is as multifaceted as life itself: beyond literature, philosophy, and spirituality, he is truly a force of nature.

Erfan Mojib was born in the desert town of Yazd in central Iran. He holds a degree in comparative literature from UM Malaysia and an MFA in creative writing from the University of New Brunswick, Canada. He has published a number of translated works of fiction including Reza Ghassemi's The Spell Chanted by Lambs, Simon Van Booy's Love Begins in Winter and The Illusion of Separateness, Gene Bell-Villada's García Márquez: The Man and His Work, Julian Barnes's Flaubert's Parrot, and Jeanette Winterson's The Passion. He is the recipient of the Tehran School of Art Short Story Award and the David Walker Prize for Creative Writing. Visit ErfanMojib.com for more information.

Gary Gach has cotranslated three books of poetry from Korean by Ko Un: Flowers of a Moment, BOA / Lannan Translation Series (Northern California Book Award for Translation); Ten Thousand Lives, and Songs for Tomorrow. His anthology What Book!?--Buddha Poems from Beat to Hiphop, (Parallax Press) received an American Book Award from Before Columbus Foundation. He's also author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Buddhism and Pause, Breathe, Smile. Visit GaryGach.com for more information.