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Elif Shafak: The revolutionary power of diverse thought
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"From populist demagogues, we will learn the indispensability of democracy," says novelist Elif Shafak. "From isolationists, we will learn the need for global solidarity. And from tribalists, we will learn the beauty of cosmopolitanism." A native of Turkey, Shafak has experienced firsthand the devastation that a loss of diversity can bring -- and she knows the revolutionary power of plurality in response to authoritarianism. In this passionate, personal talk, she reminds us that there are no binaries, in politics, emotions and our identities. "One should never, ever remain silent for fear of complexity," Shafak says.
Elif Shafak - Novelist
Elif Shafak explicitly defies definition -- her writing blends East and West, feminism and tradition, the local and the global, Sufism and rationalism, creating one of today's most unique voices in literature. Full bio
Elif Shafak explicitly defies definition -- her writing blends East and West, feminism and tradition, the local and the global, Sufism and rationalism, creating one of today's most unique voices in literature. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
"Can you taste words?"
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It was a question
that caught me by surprise.
that caught me by surprise.
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This summer, I was giving a talk
at a literary festival,
at a literary festival,
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and afterwards, as I was signing books,
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a teenage girl came with her friend,
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and this is what she asked me.
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I told her that some people
experience an overlap in their senses
experience an overlap in their senses
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so that they could hear colors
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or see sounds,
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and many writers were fascinated
by this subject, myself included.
by this subject, myself included.
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But she cut me off, a bit impatiently,
and said, "Yeah, I know all of that.
and said, "Yeah, I know all of that.
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It's called synesthesia.
We learned it at school.
We learned it at school.
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But my mom is reading your book,
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and she says there's lots
of food and ingredients
of food and ingredients
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and a long dinner scene in it.
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She gets hungry at every page.
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So I was thinking,
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how come you don't
get hungry when you write?
get hungry when you write?
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And I thought maybe,
maybe you could taste words.
maybe you could taste words.
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Does it make sense?"
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And, actually, it did make sense,
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because ever since my childhood,
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each letter in the alphabet
has a different color,
has a different color,
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and colors bring me flavors.
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So for instance, the color purple
is quite pungent, almost perfumed,
is quite pungent, almost perfumed,
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and any words that I associate with purple
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taste the same way,
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such as "sunset" -- a very spicy word.
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But I was worried that if I tell
all of this to the teenager,
all of this to the teenager,
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it might sound either too abstract
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or perhaps too weird,
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and there wasn't enough time anyhow,
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because people were waiting in the queue,
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so it suddenly felt like
what I was trying to convey
what I was trying to convey
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was more complicated and detailed
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than what the circumstances
allowed me to say.
allowed me to say.
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And I did what I usually do
in similar situations:
in similar situations:
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I stammered, I shut down,
and I stopped talking.
and I stopped talking.
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I stopped talking because
the truth was complicated,
the truth was complicated,
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even though I knew, deep within,
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that one should never, ever
remain silent for fear of complexity.
remain silent for fear of complexity.
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So I want to start my talk today
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with the answer that I was not able
to give on that day.
to give on that day.
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Yes, I can taste words --
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sometimes, that is, not always,
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and happy words have
a different flavor than sad words.
a different flavor than sad words.
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I like to explore: What does
the word "creativity" taste like,
the word "creativity" taste like,
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or "equality,"
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"love," "revolution?"
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And what about "motherland?"
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These days, it's particularly
this last word that troubles me.
this last word that troubles me.
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It leaves a sweet taste on my tongue,
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like cinnamon, a bit of rose water
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and golden apples.
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But underneath, there's a sharp tang,
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like nettles and dandelion.
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The taste of my motherland, Turkey,
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is a mixture of sweet and bitter.
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And the reason why I'm telling you this
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is because I think
there's more and more people
there's more and more people
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all around the world today
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who have similarly mixed emotions
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about the lands they come from.
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We love our native countries, yeah?
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How can we not?
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We feel attached to the people,
the culture, the land, the food.
the culture, the land, the food.
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And yet at the same time,
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we feel increasingly frustrated
by its politics and politicians,
by its politics and politicians,
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sometimes to the point
of despair or hurt or anger.
of despair or hurt or anger.
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I want to talk about emotions
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and the need to boost
our emotional intelligence.
our emotional intelligence.
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I think it's a pity
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that mainstream political theory
pays very little attention to emotions.
pays very little attention to emotions.
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Oftentimes, analysts and experts
are so busy with data and metrics
are so busy with data and metrics
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that they seem to forget
those things in life
those things in life
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that are difficult to measure
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and perhaps impossible to cluster
under statistical models.
under statistical models.
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But I think this is a mistake,
for two main reasons.
for two main reasons.
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Firstly, because we are emotional beings.
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As human beings,
I think we all are like that.
I think we all are like that.
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But secondly, and this is new,
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we have entered
a new stage in world history
a new stage in world history
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in which collective sentiments
guide and misguide politics
guide and misguide politics
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more than ever before.
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And through social media
and social networking,
and social networking,
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these sentiments are further amplified,
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polarized, and they travel
around the world quite fast.
around the world quite fast.
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Ours is the age of anxiety, anger,
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distrust, resentment
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and, I think, lots of fear.
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But here's the thing:
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even though there's plenty of research
about economic factors,
about economic factors,
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there's relatively few studies
about emotional factors.
about emotional factors.
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Why is it that we underestimate
feelings and perceptions?
feelings and perceptions?
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I think it's going to be one
of our biggest intellectual challenges,
of our biggest intellectual challenges,
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because our political systems
are replete with emotions.
are replete with emotions.
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In country after country,
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we have seen illiberal politicians
exploiting these emotions.
exploiting these emotions.
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And yet within the academia
and among the intelligentsia,
and among the intelligentsia,
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we are yet to take emotions seriously.
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I think we should.
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And just like we should focus
on economic inequality worldwide,
on economic inequality worldwide,
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we need to pay more attention
to emotional and cognitive gaps worldwide
to emotional and cognitive gaps worldwide
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and how to bridge these gaps,
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because they do matter.
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Years ago, when I was still
living in Istanbul,
living in Istanbul,
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an American scholar working on
women writers in the Middle East
women writers in the Middle East
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came to see me.
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And at some point
in our exchange, she said,
in our exchange, she said,
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"I understand why you're a feminist,
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because, you know, you live in Turkey."
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And I said to her,
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"I don't understand
why you're not a feminist,
why you're not a feminist,
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because, you know, you live in America."
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(Laughter)
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(Applause)
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And she laughed.
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She took it as a joke,
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and the moment passed.
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(Laughter)
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But the way she had divided the world
into two imaginary camps,
into two imaginary camps,
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into two opposite camps --
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it bothered me and it stayed with me.
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According to this imaginary map,
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some parts of the world
were liquid countries.
were liquid countries.
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They were like choppy waters
not yet settled.
not yet settled.
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Some other parts of the world,
namely the West,
namely the West,
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were solid, safe and stable.
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So it was the liquid lands
that needed feminism
that needed feminism
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and activism and human rights,
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and those of us who were
unfortunate enough
unfortunate enough
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to come from such places
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had to keep struggling
for these most essential values.
for these most essential values.
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But there was hope.
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Since history moved forward,
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even the most unsteady lands
would someday catch up.
would someday catch up.
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And meanwhile, the citizens of solid lands
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could take comfort
in the progress of history
in the progress of history
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and in the triumph of the liberal order.
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They could support the struggles
of other people elsewhere,
of other people elsewhere,
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but they themselves
did not have to struggle
did not have to struggle
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for the basics of democracy anymore,
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because they were beyond that stage.
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I think in the year 2016,
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this hierarchical geography
was shattered to pieces.
was shattered to pieces.
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Our world no longer follows
this dualistic pattern
this dualistic pattern
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in the scholar's mind, if it ever did.
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Now we know that history
does not necessarily move forward.
does not necessarily move forward.
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Sometimes it draws circles,
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even slides backwards,
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and that generations
can make the same mistakes
can make the same mistakes
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that their great-grandfathers had made.
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And now we know that there's no such thing
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as solid countries
versus liquid countries.
versus liquid countries.
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In fact, we are all living
in liquid times,
in liquid times,
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just like the late Zygmunt Bauman told us.
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And Bauman had another
definition for our age.
definition for our age.
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He used to say we are all going
to be walking on moving sands.
to be walking on moving sands.
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And if that's the case, I think,
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it should concern us women more than men,
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because when societies
slide backwards into authoritarianism,
slide backwards into authoritarianism,
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nationalism or religious fanaticism,
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women have much more to lose.
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That is why this needs
to be a vital moment,
to be a vital moment,
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not only for global activism,
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but in my opinion,
for global sisterhood as well.
for global sisterhood as well.
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(Applause)
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But I want to make a little confession
before I go any further.
before I go any further.
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Until recently, whenever I took part in
an international conference or festival,
an international conference or festival,
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I would be usually one
of the more depressed speakers.
of the more depressed speakers.
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(Laughter)
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Having seen how our dreams of democracy
and how our dreams of coexistence
and how our dreams of coexistence
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were crushed in Turkey,
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both gradually but also
with a bewildering speed,
with a bewildering speed,
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over the years I've felt
quite demoralized.
quite demoralized.
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And at these festivals there would be
some other gloomy writers,
some other gloomy writers,
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and they would come from places
such as Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan,
such as Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan,
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Bangladesh, Philippines,
China, Venezuela, Russia.
China, Venezuela, Russia.
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And we would smile
at each other in sympathy,
at each other in sympathy,
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this camaraderie of the doomed.
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(Laughter)
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And you could call us WADWIC:
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Worried and Depressed
Writers International Club.
Writers International Club.
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(Laughter)
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But then things began to change,
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and suddenly our club became more popular,
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and we started to have new members.
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I remember --
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(Laughter)
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I remember Greek writers and poets
joined first, came on board.
joined first, came on board.
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And then writers from Hungary and Poland,
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and then, interestingly, writers
from Austria, the Netherlands, France,
from Austria, the Netherlands, France,
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and then writers from the UK,
where I live and where I call my home,
where I live and where I call my home,
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and then writers from the USA.
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Suddenly, there were more of us
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feeling worried about
the fate of our nations
the fate of our nations
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and the future of the world.
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And maybe there were more of us now
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feeling like strangers
in our own motherlands.
in our own motherlands.
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And then this bizarre thing happened.
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Those of us who used to be
very depressed for a long time,
very depressed for a long time,
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we started to feel less depressed,
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whereas the newcomers,
they were so not used to feeling this way
they were so not used to feeling this way
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that they were now even more depressed.
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(Laughter)
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So you could see writers
from Bangladesh or Turkey or Egypt
from Bangladesh or Turkey or Egypt
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trying to console their colleagues
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from Brexit Britain
or from post-election USA.
or from post-election USA.
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(Laughter)
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But joking aside,
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I think our world is full
of unprecedented challenges,
of unprecedented challenges,
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and this comes with an emotional backlash,
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because in the face of high-speed change,
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many people wish to slow down,
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and when there's too much unfamiliarity,
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people long for the familiar.
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And when things get too confusing,
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many people crave simplicity.
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This is a very dangerous crossroads,
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because it's exactly where the demagogue
enters into the picture.
enters into the picture.
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The demagogue understands
how collective sentiments work
how collective sentiments work
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and how he -- it's usually a he --
can benefit from them.
can benefit from them.
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He tells us that we all
belong in our tribes,
belong in our tribes,
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and he tells us that we will be safer
if we are surrounded by sameness.
if we are surrounded by sameness.
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Demagogues come in all sizes
and in all shapes.
and in all shapes.
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This could be the eccentric leader
of a marginal political party
of a marginal political party
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somewhere in Europe,
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or an Islamist extremist imam
preaching dogma and hatred,
preaching dogma and hatred,
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or it could be a white supremacist
Nazi-admiring orator somewhere else.
Nazi-admiring orator somewhere else.
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All these figures, at first glance --
they seem disconnected.
they seem disconnected.
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But I think they feed each other,
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and they need each other.
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And all around the world,
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when we look at how demagogues talk
and how they inspire movements,
and how they inspire movements,
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I think they have one
unmistakable quality in common:
unmistakable quality in common:
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they strongly, strongly dislike plurality.
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They cannot deal with multiplicity.
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Adorno used to say,
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"Intolerance of ambiguity is the sign
of an authoritarian personality."
of an authoritarian personality."
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But I ask myself:
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What if that same sign,
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that same intolerance of ambiguity --
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what if it's the mark of our times,
of the age we're living in?
of the age we're living in?
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Because wherever I look,
I see nuances withering away.
I see nuances withering away.
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On TV shows, we have
one anti-something speaker
one anti-something speaker
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situated against a pro-something speaker.
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Yeah? It's good ratings.
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It's even better
if they shout at each other.
if they shout at each other.
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Even in academia, where our intellect
is supposed to be nourished,
is supposed to be nourished,
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you see one atheist scholar
competing with a firmly theist scholar,
competing with a firmly theist scholar,
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but it's not a real intellectual exchange,
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because it's a clash
between two certainties.
between two certainties.
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I think binary oppositions are everywhere.
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So slowly and systematically,
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we are being denied the right
to be complex.
to be complex.
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Istanbul, Berlin, Nice, Paris, Brussels,
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Dhaka, Baghdad, Barcelona:
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we have seen one horrible
terror attack after another.
terror attack after another.
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And when you express your sorrow,
and when you react against the cruelty,
and when you react against the cruelty,
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you get all kinds of reactions,
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messages on social media.
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But one of them is quite disturbing,
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only because it's so widespread.
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They say, "Why do you feel sorry for them?
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Why do you feel sorry for them?
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Why don't you feel sorry
for civilians in Yemen
for civilians in Yemen
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or civilians in Syria?"
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And I think the people
who write such messages
who write such messages
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do not understand
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that we can feel sorry for
and stand in solidarity with
and stand in solidarity with
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victims of terrorism and violence
in the Middle East, in Europe,
in the Middle East, in Europe,
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in Asia, in America, wherever, everywhere,
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equally and simultaneously.
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They don't seem to understand
that we don't have to pick one pain
that we don't have to pick one pain
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and one place over all others.
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But I think this is what
tribalism does to us.
tribalism does to us.
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It shrinks our minds, for sure,
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but it also shrinks our hearts,
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to such an extent that we become numb
to the suffering of other people.
to the suffering of other people.
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And the sad truth is,
we weren't always like this.
we weren't always like this.
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I had a children's book out in Turkey,
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and when the book was published,
I did lots of events.
I did lots of events.
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I went to many primary schools,
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which gave me a chance to observe
younger kids in Turkey.
younger kids in Turkey.
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And it was always amazing to see
how much empathy, imagination
how much empathy, imagination
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and chutzpah they have.
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These children are much more inclined
to become global citizens
to become global citizens
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than nationalists at that age.
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And it's wonderful to see,
when you ask them,
when you ask them,
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so many of them want
to be poets and writers,
to be poets and writers,
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16:07
and girls are just as confident as boys,
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if not even more.
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But then I would go to high schools,
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and everything has changed.
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Now nobody wants to be a writer anymore,
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16:19
now nobody wants to be a novelist anymore,
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16:21
and girls have become timid,
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16:24
they are cautious, guarded,
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reluctant to speak up in the public space,
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16:29
because we have taught them --
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16:31
the family, the school, the society --
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we have taught them
to erase their individuality.
to erase their individuality.
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16:38
I think East and West,
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16:39
we are losing multiplicity,
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both within our societies
and within ourselves.
and within ourselves.
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16:46
And coming from Turkey,
I do know that the loss of diversity
I do know that the loss of diversity
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is a major, major loss.
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16:53
Today, my motherland became
the world's biggest jailer
the world's biggest jailer
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16:56
for journalists,
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surpassing even China's sad record.
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17:02
And I also believe that what happened
over there in Turkey
over there in Turkey
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can happen anywhere.
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It can even happen here.
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So just like solid countries
was an illusion,
was an illusion,
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17:15
singular identities is also an illusion,
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17:20
because we all have
a multiplicity of voices inside.
a multiplicity of voices inside.
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17:26
The Iranian, the Persian poet, Hafiz,
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used to say, "You carry in your soul
every ingredient necessary
every ingredient necessary
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17:34
to turn your existence into joy.
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All you have to do
is to mix those ingredients."
is to mix those ingredients."
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17:41
And I think mix we can.
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17:43
I am an Istanbulite,
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but I'm also attached to the Balkans,
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17:48
the Aegean, the Mediterranean,
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the Middle East, the Levant.
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17:53
I am a European by birth, by choice,
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17:56
the values that I uphold.
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17:58
I have become a Londoner over the years.
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18:01
I would like to think of myself
as a global soul, as a world citizen,
as a global soul, as a world citizen,
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18:05
a nomad and an itinerant storyteller.
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18:10
I have multiple attachments,
just like all of us do.
just like all of us do.
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And multiple attachments
mean multiple stories.
mean multiple stories.
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18:18
As writers, we always
chase stories, of course,
chase stories, of course,
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18:23
but I think we are also
interested in silences,
interested in silences,
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18:26
the things we cannot talk about,
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18:28
political taboos, cultural taboos.
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18:31
We're also interested in our own silences.
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18:35
I have always been very vocal
about and written extensively
about and written extensively
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about minority rights, women's rights,
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LGBT rights.
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But as I was thinking about this TED Talk,
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I realized one thing:
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I have never had the courage
to say in a public space
to say in a public space
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18:54
that I was bisexual myself,
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18:57
because I so feared the slander
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19:00
and the stigma and the ridicule
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19:03
and the hatred that was sure to follow.
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19:06
But of course, one should never,
ever, remain silent
ever, remain silent
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19:11
for fear of complexity.
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19:14
(Applause)
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And although I am
no stranger to anxieties,
no stranger to anxieties,
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19:25
and although I am talking here
about the power of emotions --
about the power of emotions --
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I do know the power of emotions --
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I have discovered over time
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that emotions are not limitless.
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You know? They have a limit.
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19:37
There comes a moment --
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it's like a tipping point
or a threshold --
or a threshold --
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when you get tired of feeling afraid,
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when you get tired of feeling anxious.
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19:46
And I think not only individuals,
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but perhaps nations, too,
have their own tipping points.
have their own tipping points.
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19:53
So even stronger than my emotions
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19:56
is my awareness
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that not only gender, not only identity,
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20:02
but life itself is fluid.
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20:05
They want to divide us into tribes,
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20:08
but we are connected across borders.
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20:11
They preach certainty,
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20:13
but we know that life has plenty of magic
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and plenty of ambiguity.
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And they like to incite dualities,
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but we are far more nuanced than that.
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So what can we do?
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I think we need to go back to the basics,
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back to the colors of the alphabet.
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The Lebanese poet
Khalil Gibran used to say,
Khalil Gibran used to say,
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"I learned silence from the talkative
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and tolerance from the intolerant
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and kindness from the unkind."
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I think it's a great motto for our times.
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So from populist demagogues, we will learn
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the indispensability of democracy.
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And from isolationists, we will learn
the need for global solidarity.
the need for global solidarity.
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And from tribalists, we will learn
the beauty of cosmopolitanism
the beauty of cosmopolitanism
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and the beauty of diversity.
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As I finish, I want to leave you
with one word, or one taste.
with one word, or one taste.
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The word "yurt" in Turkish
means "motherland."
means "motherland."
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It means "homeland."
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But interestingly, the word also means
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"a tent used by nomadic tribes."
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And I like that combination,
because it makes me think
because it makes me think
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homelands do not need
to be rooted in one place.
to be rooted in one place.
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They can be portable.
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We can take them with us everywhere.
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And I think for writers, for storytellers,
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at the end of the day,
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there is one main homeland,
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and it's called "Storyland."
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And the taste of that word
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is the taste of freedom.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Elif Shafak - NovelistElif Shafak explicitly defies definition -- her writing blends East and West, feminism and tradition, the local and the global, Sufism and rationalism, creating one of today's most unique voices in literature.
Why you should listen
Elif Shafak is an award-winning novelist and the most widely read female writer in Turkey. She is also a political commentator and an inspirational public speaker.
She writes in both Turkish and English and has published 15 books, 10 of which are novels, including the bestselling The Bastard of Istanbul, The Forty Rules of Love and her most recent, Three Daughters of Eve. Her books have been published in 48 languages. She is published by Penguin in the UK and represented by Curtis Brown globally.
Shafak is a TEDGlobal speaker, a member of Weforum Global Agenda Council on Creative Economy in Davos and a founding member of ECFR (European Council on Foreign Relations). She has been awarded the title of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in 2010 by the French government.
She has been featured in and contributes to major newspapers and periodicals around the world, including the Financial Times, The Guardian, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Der Spiegel and La Repubblica.
Shafak has an academic background and has taught at various universities in Turkey, UK and USA. She holds a degree in International Relations, a masters degree in gender and women's studies and a PhD in political science. She is known as a women's rights, minority rights and LGBT rights advocate.
Shafak has been longlisted for the Orange Prize, MAN Asian Prize, the Baileys Prize and the IMPAC Dublin Award, and shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and RSL Ondaatje Prize. She sat on the judging panel for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize (2013); Sunday Times Short Story Award (2014, 2015), 10th Women of the Future Awards (2015); FT/Oppenheimer Funds Emerging Voices Awards (2015, 2016); Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction (2016) and Man Booker International Prize (2017).
As a public speaker, Shafak is represented by The London Speaker Bureau and Chartwell Speakers and Penguin Speakers Bureau. She lives in London.
Elif Shafak | Speaker | TED.com