“They took my booksbecause my message was love.They took my penbecause my words were love.Then they took my voicebecause my song was love.Soon they’ll take myselfso nothing remains.But they don’t know that when I'm gonemy love will stay.”

writer, poet, and academic

Kamand Kojouri is a writer, poet, and academic, and a fellow of the Emirates Literature Foundation. She is known for her poetry and prose, and for two poetry collections, The Eternal Dance and God, Does Humanity Exist? Her poems and short stories have appeared in anthologies and been broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Her work has also been featured in El País, The Irish Times, and BBC Persian Television. Her poem “Let My Silence Grow” was later adapted into a chorale composition by Zachary J. Moore and performed internationally, including by the Luther College Nordic Choir.