Leili Anvar


Leili Anvar is an Iranian-born French writer and translator, specializing in Persian poetry and mystic literature. She is an associate professor in Persian language and literature at INALCO.

Early life and education

Leili Anvar was born in Tehran, Imperial Iran, to a French mother, Dominique Anvar, Persian-French translator, and an Iranian father, Manuchehr Anvar, Persian writer, editor, translator, director and radio presenter.
A former student of Razi High School in Tehran, and later of La Bruyère High School in Versailles, she entered the École Normale Supérieure in 1987. She obtained her degree in English literature in 1991 and received her PhD in Persian literature from the Sorbonne in 1998.

Career

Anvar has been an associate professor of Persian literature at the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations since 2001, and she is part of the CERMOM research team.
In 2017, Anvar was selected to head the Festival of Persian-Speaking Communities which was held in Paris in January 2018.

Works

Anvar's work is mainly dedicated to the study of mystical literature as well as Persian romantic literature and its spiritual developments. Leili Anvar also contributes to the understanding of Sufism, Persian culture, history, literature, and spirituality.

General research themes

  • Persian mystical literature
  • Contemporary women's literature

    Ongoing research

  • The expression of love in Persian literature
  • Articulation between secular poetry and mystical poetry
  • Contemporary Afghan and Iranian women poets
As a translator and specialist in mystical literature, in addition to a large number of academic articles, she has notably worked on the works of the 13th-century Persian mystical poet Jalāl ad-Dīn Rūmī. She published Rūmī with Entrelacs editions, a book about the life and works of the poet, followed by an anthology of his works.
She directed the publication of an anthology of Arabic, Persian, and Turkish poetry titled Orient – Mille ans de poésie et de peinture, for which she translated the Persian poems in 2009.
She is also credited with a biography of the Kurdish-Persian poet Malek Jân Ne’mati, followed by an anthology of her works: Malek Jân Ne’mati, 'Life is not short, but time is limited'.
She translated into French verse the Manṭiq-uṭ-Ṭayr a mystical masterpiece by the Persian poet Attar under the title Le Cantique des Oiseaux.
In 2021, she published the translation of Layla and Majnun by Jami, illustrated by Oriental miniatures.

Books

  • Mawlânâ Djalâl Od-Dîn Rûmî, "Rumi", textes choisis et présentés par Leili Anvar, 2011, Points, coll. « Sagesses »
  • Paroles de Vérités d'Ostad Elahi, traduction inédite, éditions Albin Michel, 2014
  • Le Cantique des oiseaux d‘Attâr illustré par la peinture en Islam d'Orient, new verse translation, éditions Diane de Selliers, 2012
  • 'Taking Flight', introduction to Farīd-od-Dīn 'Attār's The Canticle of the Birds, illustrated through Persian and eastern Islamic art, éditions Diane de Selliers 2013
  • Malek Jân Ne'mati : la vie n'est pas courte mais le temps est compté, éditions Diane de Selliers, 2007
  • Rûmî, Entrelacs, 2004
  • Trésors dévoilés : anthologie de l'islam spirituel, éditions du Seuil, 2009
  • Orient : mille ans de poésie et de peinture, éditions Diane de Selliers, 2004

  • Honours and awards

  • Chevalière of the ordre des Arts et des Lettres
  • Winner of the Iran Book Award 2014 in the literary translation category.
  • Mevlana Awards, 2014
  • Shams and Rumi Institute awards, Téhéran, 2015