Wondrous Words: The Poetic Mastery of Jalal al-Din Rumi

The Iran Heritage Foundation and the British Museum.

Altajir Trust, The American Institute of Iranian Studies, Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd., Targetfollow Group Limited

Dr. Leili Anvar Chenderoff & Prof. Fatemeh Keshavarz.

Dr. Leili Anvar Chenderoff, Dr. Sheila Canby, Prof. Fatemeh Keshavarz, Prof. Franklin Lewis, Dr. Pierre Lory, Dr. Alan V. Williams.

Widely admired, translated and commented upon, the works of Jalal al-Din Rumi remain largely unexamined from a literary perspective. Emphasis has been placed on him as a spiritual master, and on his Masnavi as a sacred text. As a result, the poet has often been concealed from view. There is much to be explored and discovered in the poetic legacy of Rumi's entire corpus: His dynamic image-making and his mastery of lyrical expression, his use of poetic devices, including strategies of unsaying or silence, the powerful rhetoric of his narrative structures, and more...In this year of manifold celebrations all over the world on the 800th anniversary of his birth, this conference focuses on the poetic art of Rumi and on the various ways in which it interacts with the literary tradition before and after him up to our own days, with his thought and the spiritual current to which it gave birth and with the works of contemporary artists who, East and West, continue to be inspired by the echoes of his 'wondrous words'. Close to thirty speakers from seven countries will present their latest research on this topic.

A reception will be held in the East Clore Foyer of the British Museum after the last conference session on 13 September. The registration fee for the conference includes admission to the reception.

A selection of poems from the Divan and tales from the Masnavi will be recited both in Persian and English by Manouchehr Anvar, accompanied with music. This event follows the conference reception on 13 September. The registration fee for the conference includes admission to the poetry reading.

- The conference registration fee of 70 GBP [full price] and 40 GBP [full time students] includes admission to the 'Listen to the reed' poetry reading on 13 September, the conference reception on 13 September, tea/coffee morning and after noon on all conference days)
- Click on 'registration' in the left column of this page to register for the conference.

- Click on 'programme' in the left column of this page for the conference programme
- Click on 'abstracts and biographies' in the left column of this page for abstracts of the papers that will be presented at the conference plus short biographies of the speakers
- Click on 'accommodation' in the left column of this page for contact details of suitable accommodations close to the conference venue.

A selection of the papers presented at the conference will be published in a volume of proceedings, edited by Leili Anvar Chenderoff, Fatemeh Keshavarz and Alan V. Williams.