Leili Anvar

Former student of the Ecole Normale Supérieure, Leili Anvar holds a PhD in Persian literarture. She is junior professor at the Institut des Langues et des Civilsations Orientales. Her interest in the cultural expressions of mystical inspiration is manifold. As a specialist of Persian mystical literature she has been translating Rûmî, Shams-e Tabrizi, ‘Attâr, Nezâmî and more modern writers, but she also braodcasts a weekly programme on spiritual issues at the radio (France Culture). She is also a poetic performer, designing and participating in poetic recitals of mystic poetry accompanied by various musicians in different contexts (Festivals of Sacred Musics –Fès, Grasse, Perpignan- Avignon, UNESCO, Théâtre de la Ville, Théâtre d’Antibes). Her publications, besides academic articles, include Rûmî (Entrelacs, 2004), Orient, Mille ans de poésie et de peinture (Éditions Diane de Selliers, 2005), Rûmî, la Religion de l'Amour (Seuil, 2011). She has also published a new translation in verse of the Canticle of the Birds (Editions Diane de Selliers, 2012, new edition 2014) and the first French translation of a selection the spiritual teachings of Ostad Elahi, Paroles de Vérité, Albin Michel, 2014.