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Elif Shafak - Wikipedia

Elif Shafak

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Elif Shafak
Elif Shafak photo.jpg
Native name
Elif Şafak
Born25 October 1971 (age 50)
Strasbourg, France
Occupation
  • Novelist
  • essayist
  • public speaker
  • activist
Language
  • English
  • Turkish
  • Spanish
Period1990s–present
GenreLiterary fiction
Notable works
Website
www.elifshafak.com

Elif Shafak[1] (Turkish: Elif Şafak, pronounced [eˈlif ʃaˈfak]; born 25 October 1971) is a Turkish-British[2] novelist, essayist, public speaker, political scientist[3] and activist.

Shafak writes in Turkish and English, and has published 19 works. She is best known for her novels, which include The Bastard of Istanbul, The Forty Rules of Love, Three Daughters of Eve and 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World. Her books have been translated into 55 languages and been nominated for several literary awards. Described by the Financial Times as "Turkey's leading female novelist",[4] several of her works have been bestsellers in Turkey and internationally.

Her works have prominently featured the city of Istanbul, and dealt with themes of Eastern and Western culture, roles of women in society, and human rights issues. Certain politically challenging topics addressed in her novels, such as child abuse and the Armenian genocide, have led to legal action from authorities in Turkey[5][6] that prompted her to emigrate to the United Kingdom.

Shafak also holds a PhD in political science. An essayist and contributor to several media outlets, Shafak has advocated for women's rights, minority rights, and freedom of speech.

Early life and education[edit]

Shafak was born in Strasbourg, France, to Nuri Bilgin, a philosopher, and Şafak Atayman, who later became a diplomat. After her parents separated, Shafak returned to Ankara, Turkey, where she was raised by her mother and maternal grandmother.[7] She says that growing up in a dysfunctional family was difficult, but that growing up in a non-patriarchal environment had a beneficial impact on her. Having grown up without her father, she met her half-brothers for the first time when she was in her mid-twenties.[8]

Shafak added her mother's first name—Turkish for "dawn"—to her own when constructing her pen name at the age of eighteen. Shafak spent her teenage years in Madrid, Jordan and Germany.[8]

Shafak studied an undergraduate degree in international relations at Middle East Technical University, and later took women's studies.[9] She holds a Ph.D. in political science.[10][11] She has taught at universities in Turkey. Later emigrating to the United States, she was a fellow at Mount Holyoke College, a visiting professor at the University of Michigan, and was a tenured professor at the University of Arizona in Near Eastern studies.[8][12]

In the UK, she held the Weidenfeld Visiting Professorship in Comparative European Literature at St Anne's College, University of Oxford, for the 2017–2018 academic year,[13] where she is an honorary fellow.[14]

Career[edit]

Shafak has published nineteen books, both fiction and nonfiction.[15]

Fiction[edit]

Shafak's first novel, Pinhan (The Hidden), was awarded the Rumi Prize in 1998, a Turkish literary prize.[16]

Shafak's 1999 novel Mahrem (The Gaze) was awarded "Best Novel" by the Turkish Authors' Association in 2000.[17]

Her next novel, Bit Palas (The Flea Palace, 2002), was shortlisted for Independent Best Foreign Fiction in 2005.[18][19]

Shafak released her first novel in English, The Saint of Incipient Insanities, in 2004.[8]

Her second novel in English, 1] The Bastard of Istanbul, was long-listed for the Orange Prize.[20] It addresses the Armenian genocide, which is denied by the Turkish government. Shafak was prosecuted in July 2006 on charges of "insulting Turkishness" (Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code) for discussing the genocide in the novel. Had she been convicted, she would have faced a maximum jail term of three years. The Guardian commented that The Bastard of Istanbul may be the first Turkish novel to address the genocide.[21] She was acquitted of these charges in September 2006 at the prosecutor's request.[22]

Shafak's novel The Forty Rules of Love (Aşk in Turkish) became a bestseller in Turkey upon its release;[23] it sold more than 200,000 copies by 2009, surpassing a previous record of 120,000 copies set by Orhan Pamuk's The New Life.[24] In France, it was awarded a Prix ALEF* – Mention Spéciale Littérature Etrangére.[25] It was also nominated for the 2012 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.[26] In 2019, it was listed by the BBC as one of the 100 "most inspiring" novels[27] and one of the "100 novels that shaped our world".[28]

Her 2012 novel Honour, which focuses on an honour killing,[29] was nominated for the 2012 Man Asian Literary Prize and 2013 Women's Prize for Fiction,[30][31][32] followed by The Architect's Apprentice, about Mimar Sinan, in 2014.[8]

Her novel Three Daughters of Eve (2017), set in Istanbul and Oxford from the 1980s to the present day[33] was chosen by London Mayor Sadiq Khan as his favorite book of the year.[34] American writer Siri Hustvedt also praised the book.[35]

Following Margaret Atwood, David Mitchell and Sjon, Shafak was selected as the 2017 writer for the Future Library project. Her work The Last Taboo is the third part of a collection of 100 literary works that will not be published until 2114.[36]

Shafak's 2019 novel 2]  Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World, revolving around the life of an Istanbul sex worker, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.[37] In 2019, Shafak was investigated by Turkish prosecutors for addressing child abuse and sexual violence in her fiction writing.[6]

Shafak released her twelfth novel The Island of Missing Trees in 2021.[38]

Non-fiction[edit]

Shafak's non-fiction essays in Turkish have been collected in four books: Med-Cezir (2005),[39] Firarperest (2010),[40] Şemspare (2012)[41] and Sanma ki Yalnızsın (2017).[42]

In 2020, Shafak published How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division.[3]

In the media[edit]

Shafak has written for Time,[43] The Guardian,[44] La Repubblica,[45] The New Yorker,[46] The New York Times,[47] Der Spiegel[48] and New Statesman.[49]

Shafak has been a panellist or commentator on BBC World,[50] Euronews[51] and Al Jazeera English.[52]

In July 2017, Elif Shafak was chosen as a "castaway" on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs.[53]

Shafak has been a TEDGlobal speaker three times.[54]

Themes[edit]

Istanbul[edit]

The city of Istanbul has been prominent in Shafak's writing. She depicts the city as a melting pot of different cultures and various contradictions.[55] Shafak has remarked: "Istanbul makes one comprehend, perhaps not intellectually but intuitively, that East and West are ultimately imaginary concepts, and can thereby be de-imagined and re-imagined."[43] In the same essay written for Time magazine Shafak says: "East and West is no water and oil. They do mix. And in a city like Istanbul they mix intensely, incessantly, amazingly."[43] The New York Times Book Review said of Shafak, "she has a particular genius for depicting backstreet Istanbul, where the myriad cultures of the Ottoman Empire are still in tangled evidence on every family tree."[5]

In a piece she wrote for the BBC, Shafak said, "Istanbul is like a huge, colourful Matrushka – you open it and find another doll inside. You open that, only to see a new doll nesting. It is a hall of mirrors where nothing is quite what it seems. One should be cautious when using categories to talk about Istanbul. If there is one thing the city doesn't like, it is clichés."[56]

Eastern and Western cultures[edit]

Shafak blends Eastern and Western ways of storytelling, and draws on oral and written culture. In The Washington Post, Ron Charles says, "Shafak speaks in a multivalent voice that captures the roiling tides of diverse cultures."[57] Mysticism and specifically Sufism has also been a theme in her work, particularly in 3] The Forty Rules of Love.[58][59][23]

Feminism[edit]

A feminist and advocate for gender equality, Shafak's writing has addressed numerous feminist issues and the role of women in society.[58][55][33] Examples include motherhood[58] and violence against women.[55] In an interview with William Skidelsky for The Guardian, she said: "In Turkey, men write and women read. I want to see this change."[60]

Human rights[edit]

Shafak's novels have explored human rights issues, particularly those in Turkey. She has said "What literature tries to do is to re-humanize people who have been dehumanized ... People whose voices we never hear. That's a big part of my work".[61] Specific topics have included persecution of Yazidis, the Armenian genocide[55] and the treatment of various minorities in Turkey.[61]

Views[edit]

Freedom of speech[edit]

Shafak is an advocate for freedom of expression.[62] While taking part in the Free Speech Debate, she commented, "I am more interested in showing the things we have in common as fellow human beings, sharing the same planet and ultimately, the same sorrows and joys rather than adding yet another brick in the imaginary walls erected between cultures/religions/ethnicities."[63]

Political views[edit]

Shafak has been critical of the presidency of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, describing his tenure as leading to increased authoritarianism in Turkey.[64] She signed an open letter in protest against Turkey's Twitter ban in 2014, commenting: "the very core of democracy ... is lacking in today's Turkey".[65]

Shafak has spoken and written about various global political trends. In the 2010s, she drew parallels between Turkish political history and political developments in Europe and the United States.[59] Writing in The New Yorker in 2016, she said "Wave after wave of nationalism, isolationism, and tribalism have hit the shores of countries across Europe, and they have reached the United States. Jingoism and xenophobia are on the rise. It is an Age of Angst—and it is a short step from angst to anger and from anger to aggression."[46]

Shafak signed an open letter in protest against Russian persecution of homosexuals and blasphemy laws before Sochi 2014.[66]

Personal life[edit]

Shafak had lived in Istanbul, and in the United States—in Boston, Michigan, and Arizona—before moving to the UK.[67] Shafak has lived in London since 2013,[8][68] but speaks of "carrying Istanbul in her soul".[69] As of 2019, Shafak had been in self-imposed exile from Turkey due to fear of prosecution.[59][70]

Shafak is married to the Turkish journalist Eyüp Can Sağlık, a former editor of the newspaper Radikal, with whom she has a daughter and a son.[68][71] In 2017, Shafak came out as bisexual.[72]

Following the birth of her daughter in 2006, Shafak suffered from postpartum depression, a period she addressed in her memoir Black Milk.[73]

Awards and recognition[edit]

Book awards[edit]

Other recognition[edit]

  • BBC's 100 most inspiring and influential women, 2021.[82]
  • 2016 GTF Awards for Excellence in Promoting Gender Equality;[83]
  • Asian Women of Achievement Awards 2015: Global Empowerment Award;[84]
  • Women To Watch Award, Mediacat & Advertising Age, March 2014;[85]
  • Marka Conference 2010 Award;[86]
  • Turkish Journalists and Writers Foundation "The Art of Coexistence Award, 2009";[87]
  • Maria Grazia Cutuli Award – International Journalism Prize, Italy 2006.[88]

Bibliography[edit]

TurkishEnglish
NameYearPublisherISBNNameYearPublisherISBN
Kem Gözlere Anadolu1994Evrensel9789757837299
Pinhan1997Metis975-342-297-0
Şehrin Aynaları1999Metis975-342-298-9
Mahrem2000Metis975-342-285-7The Gaze2006Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd978-0714531212
Bit Palas2002Metis975-342-354-3The Flea Palace2007Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd978 0714531205
Araf2004Metis978-975-342-465-3The Saint of Incipient Insanities2004Farrar, Straus and Giroux0-374-25357-9
Beşpeşe (with Murathan Mungan, Faruk Ulay, Celil Oker and Pınar Kür)2004Metis975-342-467-1
Med-Cezir2005Metis975-342-533-3
Baba ve Piç2006Metis978-975-342-553-7The Bastard of Istanbul2007Viking0-670-03834-2
Siyah Süt2007Doğan975-991-531-6Black Milk: On Writing, Motherhood, and the Harem Within2011Viking0-670-02264-0
Aşk2009Doğan978-605-111-107-0The Forty Rules of Love: A Novel of Rumi2010Viking0-670-02145-8
Kâğıt Helva2010Doğan978-605-111-426-2
Firarperest2010Doğan978-605-111-902-1
The Happiness of Blond People: A Personal Meditation on the Dangers of Identity2011Penguin9780670921768
İskender2011Doğan978-605-090-251-8Honour2012Viking0-670-92115-7
Şemspare2012Doğan978-605-090-799-5
Ustam ve Ben2013Doğan978-605-09-1803-8The Architect's Apprentice2014Viking978-024-100-491-3
Sakız Sardunya2014Doğan978-605-09-2291-2
Havva'nın Üç Kızı2016Doğan978-605-09-3537-0Three Daughters of Eve2016Viking978-024-128-804-7
Sanma ki Yalnızsın2018Doğan978-605-095-146-2
On Dakika Otuz Sekiz Saniye2018Doğan978-605-096-309-010 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World2019Viking978-024-129-386-7
Aşkın Kırk Kuralı (compilation based on Aşk)2019Doğan Novus978-605-095-864-5
How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division2020Welcome Collection / Profile Books978-178-816-572-3
The Island of Missing Trees2021Viking978-024-143-499-4
  Novel
  Essay / Anthology
  Autobiography
  Children's book
  Short story

NOTE: Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd was bought out by Viking in 2011.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Her name is spelled "Shafak" (with the digraph ⟨Sh⟩ in place of the ⟨Ş⟩) on her books published in English, including the Penguin Books edition of The Forty Rules of Love.
  2. ^ "Elif Shafak". Curtis Brown. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  3. ^ Jump up to:a b "How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division by Elif Shafak review – a poignant look back at another age". the Guardian. 21 August 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Small talk: Elif Shafak". Financial Times. 18 February 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  5. ^ Jump up to:a b Freely, Maureen (13 August 2006). "Writers on Trial". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  6. ^ Jump up to:a b Flood, Alison (31 May 2019). "Turkey puts novelists including Elif Shafak under investigation". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  7. ^ Finkel, Andrew. "Portrait of Elif Şafak". Turkish Cultural Foundation. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  8. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f "Elif Shafak: 'I don't have the luxury of being apolitical'". the Guardian. 6 December 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  9. ^ https://tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi/giris.jsp thesis number:53420
  10. ^ tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi/giris.jsp thesis number:147676
  11. ^ https://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12605575/index.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  12. ^ "Elif Shafak: U. Arizona Professor Acquitted of Charges In Turkey | History News Network". hnn.us. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Weidenfeld Visiting Professorship in Comparative European Literature". St Anne's College, Oxford.
  14. ^ "Honorary, Advisory and Emeritus Fellows".
  15. ^ "Where to start reading Elif Shafak". www.penguin.co.uk. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  16. ^ Jump up to:a b "Mevlana büyük ödülleri - Bilgi ve Eğlence Portalınız - Porttakal". porttakal.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014.
  17. ^ Jump up to:a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 February 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  18. ^ "Spanning the literary globe". The Independent. London. 4 March 2005. Archived from the original on 18 February 2015.
  19. ^ "Bookseller Article".
  20. ^ "Orange newsroom - Orange Broadband Prize For Fiction Announces 2008 Longlist". orange.co.uk.
  21. ^ Lea, Richard."In Istanbul, a writer awaits her day in court", "The Guardian", 24 July 2016
  22. ^ "Acquittal for Turkish novelist". the Guardian. 21 September 2006. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  23. ^ Jump up to:a b "The Forty Rules of Love, By Elif Shafak". The Independent. 8 July 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  24. ^ "Edebiyatta rekor Aşk 200 bin sattı". hurriyet.com.tr.
  25. ^ "Prix ALEF - Mention Spéciale Littérature Etrangère". prix-litteraires.net.
  26. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  27. ^ "100 'most inspiring' novels revealed by BBC Arts". BBC News. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  28. ^ "BBC Arts - The Novels That Shaped Our World - Explore the list of 100 Novels That Shaped Our World". BBC. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  29. ^ "Honour by Elif Shafak – review". the Guardian. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  30. ^ "Curtis Brown website". Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  31. ^ "Penguin Books website". Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  32. ^ "Fiction Book Review: Honor by Elif Shafak". PublishersWeekly.com.
  33. ^ Jump up to:a b Williams, John (17 December 2017). "Tell Us 5 Things About Your Book: Elif Shafak on Mixing Faith and Doubt". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  34. ^ "Best books of 2017: critics' picks". Financial Times. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  35. ^ "Elif Shafak: Three Daughters of Eve with Siri Hustvedt". Livestream.
  36. ^ Flood, Alison (27 October 2017). "Elif Shafak joins Future Library, writing piece to be unveiled in 2114". The Guardian.
  37. ^ Jump up to:a b "Atwood and Rushdie on Booker Prize shortlist". BBC News. 3 September 2019.
  38. ^ Boyt, Susie (22 July 2021). "The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak — war and figs". www.ft.com. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  39. ^ "Med-Cezir".
  40. ^ "Firarperest".
  41. ^ "Şemspare".
  42. ^ "Sanma Ki Yalnızsın".
  43. ^ Jump up to:a b c Shafak, Elif (31 July 2006). "Pulled by Two Tides". Time. Archived from the original on 18 August 2006. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  44. ^ "Elif Shafak". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  45. ^ "Elif Shafak - Protagonisti". La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  46. ^ Jump up to:a b Shafak, Elif (10 December 2016). "The Silencing of Writers in Turkey". The New Yorker.
  47. ^ Shafak, Elif (19 September 2017). "Opinion | Turkey's Future Is Moving Backward". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  48. ^ "Elif Shafak". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  49. ^ "Elif Shafak, Author at New Statesman". New Statesman. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  50. ^ "Politics of Fear or Rebellion of the Forgotten?". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  51. ^ Harris, Chris (17 January 2017). "Is this the end for multiculturalism?". euronews. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  52. ^ "'Core of nationalism is ugly': Elif Shafak & W Soyinka". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  53. ^ FM, Player. "Elif Shafak Desert Island Discs podcast". player.fm.
  54. ^ Shafak, Elif. "Elif Shafak". TED.
  55. ^ Jump up to:a b c d "10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak review – powerful but preachy". the Guardian. 16 June 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  56. ^ Shafak, Elif (13 May 2010). "The Essay: Postcards from Istanbul". BBC Radio 3. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  57. ^ Charles, Ron (11 December 2017). "Elif Shafak's new novel is so timely that it seems almost clairvoyant". Washington Post. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  58. ^ Jump up to:a b c Abrams, Rebecca (18 June 2010). "Elif Shafak: Motherhood is sacred in Turkey". the Guardian. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  59. ^ Jump up to:a b c "Turkish author Elif Shafak's cautionary tale for the West". Politico. 14 August 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  60. ^ William Skidelsky (7 April 2012). "Elif Shafak: 'In Turkey, men write and women read. I want to see this change'". the Guardian.
  61. ^ Jump up to:a b Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Elif Shafak: using literature as a means to defend human rights | DW | 05.05.2021". DW.COM. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  62. ^ "'Police officers demanded to see my books': Elif Shafak on Turkey's war on free-speech". the Guardian. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  63. ^ "Elif Shafak on our common humanity". Free Speech Debate.
  64. ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Elif Shafak: 'Erdogan is the most divisive politician in Turkey's modern history' | DW | 11.09.2017". DW.COM. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  65. ^ "Major authors express Turkey concern". thebookseller.com.
  66. ^ Alison Flood (6 February 2014). "Sochi 2014: world authors join protest against Putin". the Guardian.
  67. ^ Salter, Jessica."11527563 Elif Shafak: 'I believe I'm not a good wife but I'm OK with that'", The Telegraph, 14 November 2014.
  68. ^ Jump up to:a b "My recipe for marriage: a husband who lives 1,500 miles away, says writer Elif Shafak". Evening Standard, 29 August 2013
  69. ^ Kate, Kellaway (2 May 2017). "Elif Shafak: 'When women are divided it is the male status quo that benefits'". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  70. ^ "Elif Shafak: 'I thought the British were calm about politics. Not any longer'". the Guardian. 16 September 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  71. ^ Elif Shafak: Happily married, 1,500 miles apart. Red, 2 February 2017
  72. ^ "Elif Şafak: Bugüne dek biseksüel olduğumu hiç söyleyemedim". www.hurriyet.com.tr.
  73. ^ "Breaking down the boundaries". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 March 2010.
  74. ^ "Costa Book Awards shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 24 November 2021. Archived from the original on 24 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
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  77. ^ Kerr, Michael (30 April 2015). "Ondaatje Prize 2015: shortlist announced". Telegraph.
  78. ^ "Les auteurs". salonlivre-vernon.org.
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  80. ^ "International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award". impacdublinaward.ie.
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  82. ^ "BBC 100 Women 2021: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  83. ^ "Global Thinkers Forum: Awards for Excellence 2016". Global Thinkers Forum.
  84. ^ Minter, Harriet; et al. (20 May 2015). "Asian women of achievement awards 2015: meet the winners". The Guardian.
  85. ^ "Ad Age's Women to Watch 2014". AdAge. 27 May 2014.
  86. ^ "Elif Şafak - Marka 2010 Ödülü". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021 – via www.youtube.com.
  87. ^ "GYV". gyv.org.tr. Archived from the original on 18 February 2015.
  88. ^ Today's Zaman, 28 October 2006, Saturday / Anadolu News Agency (AA), Roma.

External links[edit]


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