Quotessence
Home / Authors / Azar Nafisi
Azar Nafisi

Azar Nafisi Quotes

Writer

Filter quotes by topic

AllTehranEmpathyRealityIranPeopleImaginationIfsLiteraturePastWayIndividualIslamicReadingArtDreamFictionHeartNovelRegimesWorld

Famous Azar Nafisi Quotes

“«[...] frequentare me, sentirmi raccontare delle mie esperienze passate, rafforza quell'idea tutta positiva e assolutamente acritica dell'altro mondo, dell'Occidente... Non so... A volte ho paura di aver...» «Di averle aiutate a crearsi una fantasia parallela», intervenne lui «che si contrappone alla sovrastruttura inventata dalla Repubblica islamica?» «Sì, sì» annuii con foga. «Be', allora, in primo luogo non è solo colpa tua. Nessuno riuscirebbe a sopravvivere nel mondo che vogliono imporci loro: dobbiamo tutti inventarci un paradiso personale verso cui evadere. Nondimeno», concluse «qualcosa che puoi fare ci sarebbe». «Davvero?» domandai ansiosa, ancora un po' avvilita, e morendo dalla voglia di ricevere istruzioni, per una volta, anziché darne. «Sì, davvero, e anzi lo stai già facendo con questo tuo seminario, se non rovini tutto. Fa' ciò che i poeti fanno con i loro re filosofi. Non c'è bisogno di creare una fantasia parallela dell'Occidente: da' alle tue ragazze il meglio di quanto l'altro mondo può offrire: la finzione letteraria - restituisci loro l'immaginazione!» concluse trionfante [...]”

ReadingLiteratureImagination
Book:Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
Create image

“We speak of facts, yet facts exist only partially to us if they are not repeated and re-created through emotions, thoughts and feelings. To me it seemed as if we had not really existed, or only half existed, because we could not imaginatively realize ourselves and communicate to the world, because we had used works of imagination to serve as handmaidens to some political ploy.”

IfsWorldFactsFeelingsPoliticalUsedSpeakRealizingImaginationEmotionHalfCommunicateThoughts And FeelingsPloy
Book:Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
Create image

“Only curiosity about the fate of others, the ability to put ourselves in their shoes, and the will to enter their world through the magic of imagination, creates this shock of recognition. Without this empathy there can be no genuine dialogue, and we as individuals and nations will remain isolated and alien, segregated and fragmented.”

WorldIndividualNationsImaginationAbilityFateMagicEmpathyCuriosityShoesGenuineDialogueRecognitionAliensShockIsolatedFragmented
Author:Azar Nafisi
Create image

“I believe in empathy. I believe in the kind of empathy that is created through imagination and through intimate, personal relationships. I am a writer and a teacher, so much of my time is spent interpreting stories and connecting to other individuals. It is the urge to know more about ourselves and others that creates empathy. Through imagination and our desire for rapport, we transcend our limitations, freshen our eyes, and are able to look at ourselves and the world through a new and alternative lens.”

KnowsWorldBelieveLooksKindStoriesEyeAbleDesireIndividualI BelieveImaginationTeacherEmpathyI Believe InAlternativesLimitationIntimateMy TimeUrgesLensesConnectingPersonal RelationshipsInterpretingRapport
Author:Azar Nafisi
Create image

“The crisis besetting America is not just an economic or political crisis; something deeper is wreaking havoc across the land, a mercenary and utilitarian attitude that demonstrates little empathy for people’s actual well-being, that dismisses imagination and thought, branding passion for knowledge as irrelevant.”

PeopleWellsLittlesAmericaPoliticalPassionImaginationAttitudeEconomicLandEmpathyCrisisDeeperWell BeingBrandingIrrelevantHavocMercenaryUtilitarian
Book:The Republic of Imagination: America in Three Books
Create image