Simin Behbahani (1927, Tehran) is the foremost poet of contemporary Persian literature. She has been twice nominated for the Nobel Prize. Her more important works include The Broken Lute [Seh-tar-e Shekasteh, 1951], Footprint [Ja-ye Pa, 1954], Lustre [Chelcheragh, 1955], Marble [Marmar, 1961], Rebirth [Rastakhiz, 1971], The Speed and Fire Road [Khattak cc Sor’at va Atash, 1980], Arzheim Plain [Dasht-e Arzheim, 1983], Paper Dress [Kaghazin Jameh, 1992], The Window of Freedom [Yek Daricheh Azadi, 1995], Collected Poems [Tehran, 2003], Perhaps the Messiah [s Masihast Shay, Tehran 2003], A Cup of Sin [Selected Poems, 1999], Abandoned Shrine [2013]. Her awards include the Human Rights Watch Hellman-Hammett Grants (1998), the Carl von Ossietzky Pendant (1999), Nobel Prize nominations (1997, 2006), the Norwegian Association of Free Artists Award (2006).