Stephen Watts is a poet, editor and translator. His most recent books include Gramsci & Caruso (Periplum 2003), The Blue Bag (Aark Arts 2004) and Mountain Language/Lingua di montagna (Hearing Eye 2008). Recent co-translations include Modern Kurdish Poetry (Uppsala University 2006), A.N. Stencl's All My Young Years (Five Leaves 2007), Meta Kusar's Ljubljana (Arc 2009), Ziba Karbassi's Collage Poem and Adnan Al-Sayegh's The Deleted Part (both Exiled Writers Ink 2009) from which the poem reproduced here is taken. Stephen's next book of poems is due out from Enitharmon in 2012.

Marga Burgui-Artajo was born in Navarra in the north of Spain and began to study Arabic in 1981. Since 1994 she has lived in London and has worked at Paddington Library where she established a substantial holding of both classical and contemporary Arabic literature, and where she also came into closer contact with London-based Arabic writers and bookshops. At present she works with a diverse range of cultural groups across and beyond London.

Biographical details for Adnan Al-Sayegh can be found on the featured writer page.