“When I am writing political op-eds, I do think carefully about the impact of my words. When I am writing fiction, it's a different story. In my fiction I am more reckless. I don't care about the real world until I am done with the book.” ThinkingWorldWritingBookDifferentRealDoneStoriesCarePoliticalFictionImpactDon't CareI Don't CareReal WorldRecklessWriting Fiction Author:Elif Safak
“The digital world is developing with such force and such a pace that you simply can't ban or control it. People want to be globally connected.” PeopleWorldWantForceConnectedDevelopingDigitalPaceBansDigital World Author:Elif Safak
“I like to borrow a metaphor from the great poet and mystic Rumi who talks about living like a drawing compass. One leg of the compass is static. It is fixed and rooted in a certain spot. Meanwhile, the other leg draws a huge wide circle around the first one, constantly moving. Just like that, one part of my writing is based in Istanbul. It has strong local roots. Yet at the same time the other part travels the whole wide world, feeling connected to several cities, cultures, and peoples.” WorldWritingFirstsWholeFeelingsMovingCertainCultureStrongCitiesPoetHugeDrawsRootsMetaphorLegsConnectedWideDrawingCirclesLocalsSpotsFixedRootedCompassMysticStaticGreat PoetIstanbulConstantly Moving Author:Elif Safak
“The world does not move through time as if it were a straight line, proceeding from the past to the future. Instead time moves through and within us, in endless spirals. Eternity does not mean infinite time, but simply timelessness.” IfsWorldMeanDoePastMovingLinesEternityInfiniteEndlessStraight LinesSpiralsProceedingTimelessnessInfinite Time Author:Elif Safak
“What is the point of roaming the world when it's the same misery everywhere?” WorldMiseryRoaming Author:Elif Safak
“Submission does not mean being weak or passive. It leads to neither fatalism nor capitulation. Just the opposite. True power resides in submission. A power that comes from within. Those who submit to the divine essence of life will live in unperturbed tranquility and peace even when the whole wide world goes through turbulence after turbulence.” WorldMeanDoeWholeDivineWeakEssenceOppositesWideSubmitPassiveTranquilitySubmissionTurbulenceEssence Of LifeFatalismTrue PowerCapitulation Author:Elif Safak
“We're born into a certain family, nation, class. But if we have no connection whatsoever with the worlds beyond the one we take for granted, then we too run the risk of drying up inside. Our imagination might shrink; our hearts might dwindle, and our humanness might wither if we stay for too long inside our cultural cocoons. Our friends, neighbors, colleagues, family - if all the people in our inner circle resemble us, it means we are surrounded with our mirror image.” PeopleIfsWorldHeartMeanLongMightRunningCertainNationsBornImaginationClassRiskConnectionsMirrorsCirclesGrantedColleaguesShrinksNeighbourHumannessCocoonsMirror Image Author:Elif Safak
