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
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 Aggressive 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
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
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
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
When societies go backwards and slide into authoritarianism, nationalism, and tribalism, machismo and sexism are also emboldened. — Elif Safak Also 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 Egypt Copy Share Image
Art and literature should help us to get out of our mental cocoons. — Elif Safak Art Copy Share Image
Politicians and leaders who see the media as 'the enemy within' divide society into two clashing cultural camps. Populist demagogues benefit from… — Elif Safak Enemy 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 Heavy 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
How we see God is a direct reflection of how we see ourselves. If God brings to mind mostly fear and blame,… — Elif Safak Blame 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
I am very worried about this concentration of power, and it's not only because of Erdogan. We have the ballot box, but… — Elif Safak Ballots 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
perhaps it took a stranger to make a woman like her speak her mind. — Elif Safak Mind 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 Ankara 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 looked at people like Goya and Pina Bausch, the message I got was just do what you're passionate about. Don't… — Elif Safak How Copy Share Image
“How on earth could she now tell Armanoush that, though only nineteen, she had known many men's hands and did not feel… — Elif Şafak National identity 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
“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
We were all created in His image, and yet we were each created different and unique. No two people are alike. No… — Elif Safak Beats Copy Share Image
