photo: Les Talusan

Author of the poetry collection, City of Pearls (UpSet Press 2019), Sham-e-Ali Nayeem is an Indian Muslim American poet, artist and public interest lawyer of Hyderabadi descent. Her poetry has appeared in Apiary, Dusie and Mizna, and can be found in anthologies, including Shattering the Stereotypes: Muslim Women Speak Out (Olive Branch Press, 2005), Living Islam Out Loud: American Muslim Women Speak (Beacon Press, 2005) and Shout Out: Women of Color Respond to Violence (Seal Press, 2008). Sham-e-Ali is the recipient of the Loft Literary Center Spoken Word Immersion Fellowship.