When societies go backwards and slide into authoritarianism, nationalism, and tribalism, machismo and sexism are also emboldened. — Elif Safak Also Copy Share Image
Writing is a tribute to solitude. It is choosing introversion over extroversion, lonely hours/days/weeks/years over fun and sociability. — Elif Safak Fun Copy Share Image
I find families intriguing, perhaps because I did not grow up in one. I was raised by a feminist, independent, single mother,… — Elif Safak Because Copy Share Image
Writing in another language gives me an additional freedom, an additional way of thinking. It's a challenge, but I like the challenge. — Elif Safak Freedom Copy Share Image
I believe in optimism of the will, pessimism of the intellect. But my hope is the people, the society, which is ahead… — Elif Safak Believe Copy Share Image
Feminists are now being vilified in politics, erdogan used to speak more embracingly, saying he was the leader of everyone, whether they… — Elif Safak Distance Copy Share Image
In a normal democracy, you protect the individual from the excessive power of the state. In Turkey, power elites try to protect… — Elif Safak Democracy Copy Share Image
For me, coming from the women's movement, politics is not just about parties and parliament. There is politics in our private space… — Elif Safak Gender Copy Share Image
Many analysts compare Turkey with countries in the Middle East, but I think we need to compare it with Russia. Both countries… — Elif Safak Analysts 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 Believe 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
The only way to learn writing is by writing. Talent, as charming as it sounds, amounts to no more than 12 per… — Elif Safak Learn 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
Part of me always felt like the other, the outsider, the observer. My father had two sons with his second wife, who… — Elif Safak Identity Copy Share Image
There are two different ways of writing a novel. The first I call the traditional father way, when the novelist slightly situates… — Elif Safak Books Copy Share Image
We're born into a certain family, nation, class. But if we have no connection whatsoever with the worlds beyond the one we… — Elif Safak Born Copy Share Image
Ways of loving from a distance, mating without even touching-Amor platonicus! The ladder of love one is expected to climb higher and… — Elif Safak Amor 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
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
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
Books change us. Books save us. I know this because it happened to me. Books saved me. So, I do believe through… — Elif Safak Because 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 Forty 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
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 Go 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
Turkey has a very young, dynamic, curious population. In Europe, Facebook and Twitter are mostly about sharing daily experiences while for Turkish… — Elif Safak Curious 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
Article Five: If you have no reason or ability to accomplish anything, then just practice the art of becoming. — Elif Safak Ability Copy Share Image
Knowledge that takes you, not beyond yourself is far worse than ignorance. — Elif Safak Funny Copy Share Image
I write with humour about sadness, to introduce an element of sweet to the sour, a bit like Turkish food. — Elif Safak About Copy Share Image
How can you blame others for disrespecting you when you think of yourself as unworthy of respect? — Elif Safak Blame Copy Share Image
I love commuting between languages just like I love commuting between cultures and cities. — Elif Safak Between Copy Share Image
Time is just an illusion. What you need is to live this very moment. That is all that matters. — Elif Safak Illusion Copy Share Image
Bad writing is like a bad relationship. Don't be addicted to it just because you are familiar with its ways. Let go. — Elif Safak Addicted Copy Share Image
If there is no love between the author and the story, there is no love between the reader and the story. — Elif Safak Author Copy Share Image
The digital world is developing with such force and such a pace that you simply can't ban or control it. People want… — Elif Safak Bans Copy Share Image
