Kaveh Akbar

In person, Kaveh Akbar radiates a vast, enveloping kindness. He engages with intense attention and such gorgeously geeky excitement that after speaking with him for just a few minutes, one’s eyes begin to see the world anew, and ordinary things suddenly spark with wonder and delight. These are personal qualities of Kaveh’s that make those who meet him love him instantly; these are also attributes that make him one of the best poets in the U.S. and most recently, with ­Martyr!, a debut novelist of astonishing depth, humor, and originality, as well as stark, sinuous prose. 

Kaveh was certainly born a good person, but his overwhelming personal grace and the power of his art were annealed into their pure form by the white-hot fire of his addiction. Out of Kaveh’s suffering came his great talents. How wonderful for us that he turns everything he holds into art he then lays at our feet. It is the profoundest gift.

Groff is a best-selling author