Irena Klepfisz

Irena Klepfisz is a poet and lesbian activist. Her collection Her Birth and Later Years: New and Collected Poems 1971–2021 was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award in poetry and the winner of the Audre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetry from the Publishing Triangle. A bilingual edition of her poetry and prose, Pomiędzy światami (Between worlds), was published in Poland in 2024.  Klepfisz is the author of A Few Words in the Mother Tongue (poetry) and Dreams of an Insomniac (essays). For 22 years, Klepfisz taught Jewish Women's Studies at Barnard College. She has been a recipient of an NEA fellowship and NYFA grant in poetry and a finalist for the poetry Lambda Award. In 2016 she was honored to receive the Dreaming in Yiddish Prize from the Adrienne Cooper Fund and currently serves on the Board of the Workers Circle.