Elif Shafak
* 25 oktober 1971 i Strasbourg, Frankrike
Elif Shafak, född 1971, har givit ut elva böcker (2012), varav 8 romaner, och är Turkiets mest säljande kvinnliga författare. Hon skriver både på turkiska och engelska.
Utöver det skönlitterära författandet är Shafak även akademiker och har en examen i Internationalla relationer vid Middle East Technical University. Hon har även en master i Gender and Women's Studies och Ph.D. i Political Science. Hennes avhandling "Islamic Mysticism and the Circular Understanding of Time" blev prisbelönad. Idag fortsätter Shafak att skriva för Haberturk, en stor turkisk dagstidning, liksom för flera internationella tidningar och tidskrifter. Hon skriver också texter till turkisk rockmusik.
Med Bastarden från Istanbul, en bok som översatts till över 20 språk, blev Shafak åtalad för att ha "kränkt den turkiska identiteten".
Förlagsinformation
Citat
I like to think of my writing as a compass. One leg of this compass is solidly based in Istanbul and the culture I grew up with. In this sense my fiction has solid roots. The other leg of the compass, however, draws a wide circle and travels the whole wide world. My fiction is cosmopolitan and multicultural. Therefore my writing is both local and universal
In my novels I travel endlessly in time and space. Through the art of storytelling we connect to one another. At the core of literature is the notion of empathy and the desire to build connections. It is all about connections..
I can write everywhere and anywhere. I wrote some of my novels at international airports, on trains, in small hotels... Any place could be a workplace for me: restaurants, cafes, train stations, dormitories... Everywhere except a neat and tidy, sterile and silent bureau. That is the only place I cannot write in
They ask me why there are so many djinnis or supernatural forces in my novels. Because there is magic in life, that is why
Just like love, literature shows us the connections. We live in a world in which the unhappiness of someone in Pakistan can affect the life of someone in Canada. In this world nobody lives in a vacuum. The sorrow of one person can sadden the entire humanity. The happiness of one person can contribute to the joy of all. Literature and art help us to feel connected with the universe
My writing thrives upon journeys. I commute between different cultures and cities, and believe in the power of literature to transcend all sorts of mental ghettoes and boundaries -be it national, religious, class or gender boundaries. The ancient art of storytelling brings us together and bridges the gap between "us" and "them"
Bibliografi – böcker
