Azar Nafisi
Azar Nafisi
Azar Nafisi is an Iranian writer and professor of English literature. She has resided in the United States since 1997 and became an American citizen in 2008...
NationalityIranian
ProfessionWriter
who-i-am people hometown
When I walked down the streets, I asked myself, are these my people?, is this my hometown, am I who I am?
giving want needs
The reason I am so popular is that I give others back what they need to find in themselves. You need me not because I tell you what I want you to do but because I articulate and justify what you want to do.
art betrayal lying
In all great works of fiction, regardless of the grim reality they present, there is an affirmation of life against the transience of that life, an essential defiance. This affirmation lies in the way the author takes control of reality by retelling it in his own way, thus creating a new world. Every great work of art, I would declare pompously, is a celebration, an act of insubordination against the betrayals, horrors and infidelities of life. The perfection and beauty of form rebels against the ugliness and shabbiness of the subject matter.
people littles facts
There is little consolation in the fact that millions of people are unhappier than we are. Why should other people's misery make us happier or more content?
home imagination expectations
Most great works of the imagination were meant to make you feel like a stranger in your own home. The best fiction always forced us to question what we took for granted. It questioned traditions and expectations when they seemed to immutable.
heart my-heart
I eat my heart out alone.
order imagination needs
You need imagination in order to imagine a future that doesn't exist.
art betrayal infidelity
Every great work of art ... is a celebration, an act of insubordination against the betrayals, horrors and infidelities of life.
teacher believe eye
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.
attitude evil world
None of us can avoid being contaminated by the world's evils; it's all a matter of what attitude you take towards them.
memories rain path
I am suddenly left alone again on the sunny path, with a memory of the rain.
islamic iran america
After the rigged Iranian presidential elections in 2009, the Islamic regime attacked the 'humanities' as the main source of protests, the most effective tool used by the West, especially America, to corrupt and incite Iranian youth, and finally closed down all the Humanities departments in Iran's universities.
atrocities silent innocent
Once we know of atrocities we cannot remain silent, and knowledge inevitably leads to an urge to protect the innocent.
dream people vision
The negative side of the American Dream comes when people pursue success at any cost, which in turn destroys the vision and the dream.