In quest of Simorgh:a reading of The Conference of the Birds

A former student of the Ecole Normale Supérieure, Leili Anvar holds a PhD in Persian literature. She is Assistant Professor at the Institut National des Langues et des Civilsations Orientales, Paris.  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 on the radio (France Culture).
Her publications include Rûmî (Entrelacs, 2004), Orient, Mille ans de poésie et de peinture (Éditions Diane de Selliers, 2005), Malek Jân Ne’mati : « La vie n’est pas courte mais le temps est compté » (Éditions Diane de Selliers, 2007), Anthologie de l'Islam spirituel (Seuil, 2010)  and Rûmî, la Religion de l'Amour (Seuil, 2011). She has finished a new translation in verse of the Conference of the Birds, to be published in September 2012 (Editions Diane de Selliers).