Turkish-American poet and performer Sara Deniz Akant was born and raised in New York. She is the author of BABETTE (Rescue Press, 2015), selected by Maggie Nelson; Parades (Omnidawn, 2014), selected by Gillian Conoley; and Latronic Strag (Persistent Editions, 2015). Her poetry has appeared in The Brooklyn Rail, The Denver Quarterly, and Lana Turner.