Elif Shafak: The revolutionary power of diverse thought
艾莉芙 · 夏法克: 多样化思想的革命性力量
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.
that caught me by surprise.
at a literary festival,
experience an overlap in their senses
by this subject, myself included.
and said, "Yeah, I know all of that.
并说到:“是的,我都知道。
We learned it at school.
of food and ingredients
get hungry when you write?
maybe you could taste words.
has a different color,
is quite pungent, almost perfumed,
all of this to the teenager,
这些都说给这个女孩听
what I was trying to convey
allowed me to say.
in similar situations:
and I stopped talking.
the truth was complicated,
remain silent for fear of complexity.
害怕,继而保持沉默
我没能作出的回答
to give on that day.
a different flavor than sad words.
the word "creativity" taste like,
this last word that troubles me.
there's more and more people
the culture, the land, the food.
文化、土地和食物紧密相连
by its politics and politicians,
of despair or hurt or anger.
our emotional intelligence.
pays very little attention to emotions.
are so busy with data and metrics
数据和度量指标
those things in life
是很难被测量的
under statistical models.
for two main reasons.
可以说明这是错误的
I think we all are like that.
a new stage in world history
guide and misguide politics
任何时候都能左右政治
and social networking,
around the world quite fast.
焦虑、愤怒、怀疑、怨恨
about economic factors,
about emotional factors.
feelings and perceptions?
of our biggest intellectual challenges,
are replete with emotions.
exploiting these emotions.
and among the intelligentsia,
on economic inequality worldwide,
经济不平等一样
to emotional and cognitive gaps worldwide
情感和认知鸿沟
living in Istanbul,
women writers in the Middle East
in our exchange, she said,
why you're not a feminist,
into two imaginary camps,
were liquid countries.
not yet settled.
还没有平静下来
namely the West,
that needed feminism
unfortunate enough
人们,非常不幸地
for these most essential values.
would someday catch up.
也总有一天会变牢固
in the progress of history
自由秩序的胜利中得到安慰
of other people elsewhere,
did not have to struggle
为基本的民主为斗争了
was shattered to pieces.
this dualistic pattern
存在于这个学者脑海中的二元模式了
does not necessarily move forward.
can make the same mistakes
他们祖先曾经犯过的错误
固态国家和与之相对的液态国家
versus liquid countries.
in liquid times,
告诉我们的那样
definition for our age.
to be walking on moving sands.
slide backwards into authoritarianism,
to be a vital moment,
不仅仅是对全球的行动主义而言
for global sisterhood as well.
before I go any further.
直到最近,每当参加国际会议或庆祝活动
an international conference or festival,
of the more depressed speakers.
and how our dreams of coexistence
以一种令人困惑的速度在土耳其破碎
with a bewildering speed,
quite demoralized.
some other gloomy writers,
其他的一些沮丧的作家
such as Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan,
China, Venezuela, Russia.
at each other in sympathy,
Writers International Club.
joined first, came on board.
from Austria, the Netherlands, France,
奥地利、荷兰和法国的作家也来了
where I live and where I call my home,
我在那生活,并称之为家
the fate of our nations
和世界的未来感到担忧
in our own motherlands.
却觉得自己像是陌生人
very depressed for a long time,
they were so not used to feeling this way
他们对这种感受十分不适应
from Bangladesh or Turkey or Egypt
孟加拉国、土耳其或埃及的作家
脱欧后的英国或大选后的美国的同行
or from post-election USA.
of unprecedented challenges,
enters into the picture.
粉墨登场的地方
how collective sentiments work
can benefit from them.
如何能从中获利
belong in our tribes,
if we are surrounded by sameness.
都是跟我们一样的人,我们就会更安全
and in all shapes.
of a marginal political party
一个小政党的古怪的领导人
preaching dogma and hatred,
仇恨的极端伊斯兰教阿訇
Nazi-admiring orator somewhere else.
白人至上主义者演说家
they seem disconnected.
似乎没有什么联系
and how they inspire movements,
交谈和鼓励那些运动时
unmistakable quality in common:
of an authoritarian personality."
of the age we're living in?
这个时代的标志怎么办?
I see nuances withering away.
细微的差别都在渐渐消失
one anti-something speaker
会被安排到对立位置
if they shout at each other.
is supposed to be nourished,
智慧滋养的地方
competing with a firmly theist scholar,
坚定的有神论学者较劲,
between two certainties.
to be complex.
terror attack after another.
and when you react against the cruelty,
for civilians in Yemen
叙利亚的民众感到难过?”
who write such messages
and stand in solidarity with
受害者感到难过并坚定地站在他们一边
in the Middle East, in Europe,
亚洲还是美洲,都平等相待
that we don't have to pick one pain
或者哪一个难区最为惨烈
tribalism does to us.
使我们对其他人的痛苦变得麻木
to the suffering of other people.
we weren't always like this.
我们以前不总是这样的
I did lots of events.
younger kids in Turkey.
土耳其的小孩子的机会
how much empathy, imagination
同情心、想像力和敢作敢为
to become global citizens
在那时更倾向成为世界公民
when you ask them,
如果问他们的志向
to be poets and writers,
想要成为诗人和作家
甚至信心更足
to erase their individuality.
and within ourselves.
I do know that the loss of diversity
失去多样性是一个很大很大的损失
the world's biggest jailer
成为了世界上最大的监狱
over there in Turkey
was an illusion,
a multiplicity of voices inside.
every ingredient necessary
你将所需的原料都放入灵魂中了。
is to mix those ingredients."
将这些原料搅拌混合。”
我持有的价值观,我是一个欧洲人
as a global soul, as a world citizen,
just like all of us do.
mean multiple stories.
chase stories, of course,
我们一直在追逐故事
interested in silences,
事物、政治禁忌和文化禁忌感兴趣
about and written extensively
LGBT性少数群体的权利问题直言不讳
to say in a public space
我自己就是一个双性恋者的事实
以及仇恨会接踵而来
ever, remain silent
因为对复杂感到畏惧而保持沉默
no stranger to anxieties,
about the power of emotions --
or a threshold --
have their own tipping points.
不仅仅是性别、身份,生命它本身,就是液态的
充满了不确定性
Khalil Gibran used to say,
一个很好的座右铭
我们会学到民主的不可或缺性
the need for global solidarity.
会学到全球团结的必要性
the beauty of cosmopolitanism
世界主义之美以及多样性之美
with one word, or one taste.
一个词,或者说一种味道
means "motherland."
意思是 “祖国”
“一顶游牧部落所使用的帐篷 ”
because it makes me think
to be rooted in one place.
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