Born in Kirkuk in Iraqi Kurdistan in 1967, Kajal Ahmad began publishing her remarkable poetry at the age of 21. SHe has published four books: Benderî Bermoda (1999), Wutekanî Wutin (1999), Qaweyek le gel ev da, (2001) and Awênem şikand , (2004).

Kajal has gained a considerable reputation for her brave, poignant and challenging work throughout the Kurdish-speaking world. Her poems have been translated into Arabic, Turkish, Norwegian and now, for the first time, into English.

Poems