I believe in optimism of the will, pessimism of the intellect. But my hope is the people, the society, which is ahead… — Elif Safak Copy Share Image
Words are heavy in Turkey, and every writer, every poet and every journalist knows that, because of a word, because of a… — Elif Safak Copy Share Image
With 'The Forty Rules of Love,' I wanted to write a love story. But I wanted a love story with a spiritual… — Elif Safak Copy Share Image
When I looked at people like Goya and Pina Bausch, the message I got was just do what you're passionate about. Don't… — Elif Safak Artist Copy Share Image
If you are a writer from Turkey, Pakistan, Nigeria, Egypt, you don't have the luxury of being apolitical. You can't say, 'That's… — Elif Safak Apolitical Copy Share Image
Books change us. Books save us. I know this because it happened to me. Books saved me. So, I do believe through… — Elif Safak Copy Share Image
The only way to learn writing is by writing. Talent, as charming as it sounds, amounts to no more than 12 per… — Elif Safak Copy Share Image
Obviously, Turkey is not a typical authoritarian regime, and obviously it's very important that there are free elections. But it's also obvious… — Elif Safak Authoritarian Copy Share Image
After the Ankara bombings on October 10, people were asked to hold a minute of silence, but many refused. Our society can't… — Elif Safak Copy Share Image
I realized over the years if I'm writing about humor, irony, satire, I much prefer to do that in English. And if… — Elif Safak Humor Copy Share Image
Turkey is a complex country. Most readers are women, of all generations, and they are passionate about books. However, the written culture… — Elif Safak Books Copy Share Image
“Page 158: 'Architecture is team work,' said Sinan. 'Apprenticeship is not.' 'Why don't you want us to look at each other's drawings?… — Elif Şafak Architecture Copy Share Image
Submission does not mean being weak or passive. It leads to neither fatalism nor capitulation. Just the opposite. True power resides in… — Elif Safak Capitulation Copy Share Image
I was in Madrid as a young girl and a teenager. I'll never forget when I went to the Prado Museum for… — Elif Safak Big impact Copy Share Image
I see two opposite tendencies in Turkish society: people feel demoralized, they lose the interest in politics and retreat to their private… — Elif Safak Angry Copy Share Image
When I am writing political op-eds, I do think carefully about the impact of my words. When I am writing fiction, it's… — Elif Safak Book Copy Share Image
Almost half of the Turkish population believes it is not legitimate to criticize the government. Interestingly, this correlates with the number of… — Elif Safak Copy Share Image
I would like the refugee crisis to become a new beginning in the Turkish-European relationship. But it would be very problematic if,… — Elif Safak Crisis Copy Share Image
When I was 10 years old, we moved to Spain with my mother. I learned Spanish before I learned English. But the… — Elif Safak English language Copy Share Image
Our politics is very masculine, very aggressive, and it's very polarizing. And the pace of this development has increased in recent years.… — Elif Safak Copy Share Image
Turkey in general became too involved with what is happening in Egypt and in Syria. Some politicians with neo-Ottoman dreams developed this… — Elif Safak Dream Copy Share Image
How we see God is a direct reflection of how we see ourselves. If God brings to mind mostly fear and blame,… — Elif Safak Copy Share Image
It is tiring to be Turkish. The country is badly polarised, bitterly politicized. Every writer, journalist, poet knows that because of an… — Elif Safak Country Copy Share Image
Sometimes I feel I have more faith in European ideals than some of my British or French friends. For them, it's a… — Elif Safak British Copy Share Image
Turkey has a very young, dynamic, curious population. In Europe, Facebook and Twitter are mostly about sharing daily experiences while for Turkish… — Elif Safak Copy Share Image
The lack of trust in supranational entities and cosmopolitan elite creates a fertile ground for tribalist belongings and reactionary politics. — Elif Safak Community Copy Share Image
I write as if I were drunk. It is a process of intuition rather than placing myself above my story like a… — Elif Safak Copy Share Image
I like to question cultural biases wherever I go, and I question Islamophobia as much as I question anti-western sentiment because I… — Elif Safak Copy Share Image
Stories cannot demolish frontiers, but they can punch holes in our mental walls, and through those holes we can get a glimpse… — Elif Safak Copy Share Image
