In many ways I'm similar to Barack Obama, who also has a strange name but was raised by a white American mother. His background is far more complicated than his name would suggest. Furthermore, the fact that I was a… — Said Sayrafiezadeh Copy Share Image
The benefit of writing a collection - as opposed to a novel - is that I'm able to have some version of the war… — Said Sayrafiezadeh Copy Share
I was trying to hold up a mirror to this country, to reflect the past years or so, and the varying degrees in which… — Said Sayrafiezadeh Copy Share
We were poor, my mother and I, living in a world of doom and gloom, pessimism and bitterness, where storms raged and wolves scratched… — Said Sayrafiezadeh Copy Share
The difference between our family and other poor families was that my mother actively chose to be poor. She was highly literate, and she… — Said Sayrafiezadeh Copy Share
My sister married an American and took his name, and my brother has shortened Sayrafiezadeh to Sayraf. So now he's Jacob Sayraf, or sometimes… — Said Sayrafiezadeh Copy Share
I sometimes have to write for a while before I figure it out, pretend that I know what I'm doing, sort of like ad-libbing… — Said Sayrafiezadeh Copy Share
I suppose my Iranian identity is one of the driving forces for being a writer: I want to set the record straight about who… — Said Sayrafiezadeh Copy Share
[Ending] is partly drawn from a desire to shock the audience, to brutally de-romanticize what many Americans think is happening overseas. And partly drawn… — Said Sayrafiezadeh Copy Share
My childhood was defined by my father's absence. His presence looms so large. Up until the age of 18, he was a superstar for me. — Said Sayrafiezadeh Copy Share
I don't work with an outline, except a vague one in my head, a general idea of character, place, arc... I'm like a composer… — Said Sayrafiezadeh Copy Share
There's always been something a little pathetic for me at the work parties I've attended, especially thinking back to the restaurants I worked in.… — Said Sayrafiezadeh Copy Share
My characters are not underachievers; they aspire to great things, but they are limited by the world around them. — Said Sayrafiezadeh Copy Share
I need to feel as if everything is clean and in its proper place before I can even attempt to write one word. At… — Said Sayrafiezadeh Copy Share
But it's hard for me to pinpoint where all my characters and dialogue come from - imagination or real life. My memoir, of course,… — Said Sayrafiezadeh Copy Share
I don't feel any ethical dilemma when I write. In my memoir, I was able to write with candor about the two most difficult… — Said Sayrafiezadeh Copy Share
