Attar Author

Attar (also known as Shaikh Farid-Ud-Din, Attar of Nishapur, and Abu Hamid bin Abu Bakr Ibrahim) was born 1145 in Nišapur, a city in the northeast region of Iran. Reliable information on Attar’s life is scarce, but according to two reliable contemporaries, Awfi and Kaja Nasir-al-din Tusi, he was a pharmacist. Indeed, the name “Attar” means herbalist and perfume maker. Although information about his life and death is opaque and has been mythologized over the intervening centuries, at some point Attar traveled widely and met with several Sufi Masters, including his student Rumi. He lived for over seventy years and died a violent death in the massacre inflicted by the Mongols in 1221. Sholeh Wolpé is an Iranian-born poet, playwright, and librettist. Her performances, solo or in collaboration with musicians and artists, have been hailed by audiences as mesmerizing. She has lived in Iran, Trinidad, and the UK, and presently divides her time between Los Angeles and Barcelona.