Fatemeh Keshavarz was born and raised in the city of Shiraz in southwest Iran. She holds a B.A. degree in Persian Language and Literature from Shiraz University, and a Masters and a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University. Her Ph.D. thesis won the Dunn and Wilson Award (The British Publisher's Award for a Ph.D. Work of Distinction) in 1986.

Fatemeh Keshavarz is a published poet in her native language (Persian), writes poetry in English, and is the author of several books and journal articles. Her book: Reading Mystical Lyric: the Case of Jalal al-Din Rumi (University of South Carolina, 1998) analyzes the poetic contribution of the medieval Persian poet and mystic Rumi. Her other literary study: Recite in the Name of the Red Rose: Poetic Sacred Making in Twentieth Century Iran (again USC press, May, 2006) deals with expressions of spirituality in present day Iran. Both these works received the Choice Magazine Award. Her latest book (North Carolina University Press, 2007) blends personal memoir with literary analysis and social commentary. It is called Jasmines and Stars: Reading more than Lolita in Tehran, described by ALA Booklist as an "excellent counterpoint" to Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran.

Fatemeh has lived in the Near East and Europe, knows Persian, Arabic, and Turkish in addition to English and French (reading knowledge). Her research interests include: Persian poetry, Sufi literature, and Women in the Muslim world.

As a public intellectual, she takes interest in the broader implications of cultural education for world peace. In May 2007, she was invited to speak at the UN General Assembly on this topic.

She has taught at Washington University since 1990. She has served as Director of the Graduate Program in Jewish, Islamic, and Near Eastern Studies, Director of the Center for the Study of Islamic Societies and Civilizations, and President of the Association of Women Faculty. She currently chairs the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages & Literatures.

Topics covered

• Art and Activism
• Persian Language & Literature
• Iranian Studies