Reading Lolita in Tehran remained on The New York Times Best Seller list for 117 weeks after its 2003 publication. This memoir, which was adapted into a film in 2024, captures the intellectual experiences of a secular academic navigating life within the Islamic Republic of Iran during the decades following the 1979 revolution.
Early Background and Education
Born in 1948 in Tehran, Iran, Azar Nafisi grew up as the daughter of Ahmad Nafisi, who served as mayor of Tehran from 1961 to 1963, and Nezhat Nafisi, who was elected to the National Consultative Assembly. At the age of 13, she relocated to Lancaster, England, to continue her education, later moving to Switzerland. She eventually pursued her studies in the United States, completing her degree and doctoral requirements in English and American literature at the University of Oklahoma.
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Upon returning to Iran in 1979, Nafisi joined the faculty at the University of Tehran. Her tenure was cut short in 1981 following her refusal to wear a mandatory Islamic veil, which led to her expulsion. During a period of relative liberalization, she secured a teaching position at Allameh Tabataba'i University. In 1995, she attempted to resign; the institution rejected the move, eventually dismissing her after she ceased attendance. Between 1995 and 1997, she held private literary study sessions at her home, where female students analyzed Western literary works by authors such as Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Henry James.
Literary Contributions
Nafisi became a United States citizen in 2008. Her bibliography includes Things I've Been Silent About: Memories of a Prodigal Daughter, The Republic of Imagination: America in Three Books, That Other World: Nabokov and the Puzzle of Exile, and Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times. She has held various academic roles, including serving as the director of the SAIS Dialogue Project and Cultural Conversations at Johns Hopkins University and as a fellow at Oxford University.
Fast facts
- Born: 1948, Tehran
- Citizenship: United States; Iran
- Education: University of Oklahoma
- Notable Work: Reading Lolita in Tehran
- Language: English and Persian
- Notable Award: Rome Prize
Questions readers ask
What is the focus of the book Reading Lolita in Tehran?
It describes the author's experiences living and working as a secular woman in the Islamic Republic of Iran after the revolution.
Which academic institutions has Nafisi been affiliated with?
She has worked for the University of Tehran and Johns Hopkins University, and has held fellowships at Oxford University and the Georgetown Walsh School of Foreign Service.
Achievements
- Rome Prize
- Notable work: Reading Lolita in Tehran
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