Leili and Majnun in French

French translation of the Persian poetry masterpiece ‘Leili and Majnun’ by Nezami Ganjavi was released for the first time The French literature scholar Isabelle de Gastines translated the work by the great Iranian poet and mystic of the 12^th century Nezami Ganjavi which was published and released by Fayard Publishing House in France. ‘Leili and Majnun’ was composed in the form of Mathnavi [double-rhymed verses], third from the series of Quinary (‘Panj Ganj’ or ‘Khamsa) by Nezami who draw influence from Arabic and Persian anecdotes. In the story, two children, Qeis and Leili fall in love with each other when they are young, but when they grow up, Leili’s father doesn’t allow them to be together. Qays becomes obsessed with her, and the community gives him the epithet Majnun (lit. “crazy”). W hen he asked for her hand in marriage, her father refused because it would be a scandal for Leili to marry someone considered mentally unbalanced. Soon after, Leili was married to another noble and rich merchant. Leili is moved to another place with her husband, where she became ill of heartbreak from not being able to see her beloved and eventually dies. Majnun was later found dead in the wilderness near Leili’s grave; while her love takes him to heaven.