Farzana Marie is a poet and PhD student at the University of Arizona's School of Middle Eastern and North Africa Studies, where she focuses on Persian Literature with a minor in Creative Writing. Farzana’s poetry has appeared in print and on-line journals including The Rusty Nail, Adanna, and Exit Strata, and When Women Waken, as well as a forthcoming anthology by Holy Cow! Press entitled The Heart of All That Is: Reflections on Home. She has authored numerous articles, book chapters, and the book Hearts for Sale! A Buyer's Guide to Winning in Afghanistan.

Farzana has been writing poems and stories since she was a child, publishing her first poem at the age of 12. After growing up internationally in places like Chile, Kazakhstan, and California, Farzana enrolled at the United States Air Force Academy, where despite a rigid military lifestyle, her poems sprung up stubbornly amid marching to lunch, astronautical engineering headaches, and Saturday morning inspections. After graduating with a B.S. in 2006, she completed an M.A. in English at the University of Massachusetts, Boston and served on active duty for over six years, including two consecutive years deployed in Afghanistan. She now serves as president of Civil Vision International, a nonprofit charitable organization focused on positively influencing international relationships through connecting, informing, and inspiring citizens. You can follow Farzana on Twitter: @farzanamarie.