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 Jake Sayraf. He made the change when he was a teenager, prior to the Iranian revolution… — Said Sayrafiezadeh Copy Share Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
[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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
My characters are not underachievers; they aspire to great things, but they are limited by the world around them. — Said Sayrafiezadeh Copy Share Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
![“[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 from my own childhood: violence and a loss of innocence. But keep in mind that, as a writer, I'm both the criminal and the victim. I'm not…” quote by Said Sayrafiezadeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/1c0/said-sayrafiezadeh-16091_audience_ending-is-partly-drawn-from-a-desire-to_597129.jpg)
