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THE ALLEYNIAN 710
Journeys of the mind
LISTENING TO BOOKER PRIZE-NOMINATED WRITER ELIF SHAFAK TALK ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY WAS AN INSPIRATION, SAYS MATTHEW WU (YEAR 12)
On Friday 11 March, as part of our Identity Awareness Month, and to mark International Women’s Day, Elif Shafak came in to talk about her work of non-fiction How to Stay Sane in the age of Division , the most recent of her 17 published books. This was an inspiring talk, in which she gave us an insight into what, and who, inspired her to become the writer she is today. A citizen of the world, born in France, then living in Turkey, Spain, Jordan and Germany, she is not only a political scientist and passionate feminist, but also a committed socio-political activist, fighting for minority rights and for freedom of speech. We were extremely lucky to have her here, and those who attended her talk learned a great deal, as Nicholas Adamides (Year 9) explains in more detail below. Elif Shafak’s political writing has always explored complex themes, from gender roles to human rights issues, the latter being something she may have been inspired to write about due to the Armenian genocide within her home country, Turkey. I found it particularly fascinating to hear about the circumstances that led to her becoming a writer. When she was a child, her parents divorced and she and her mother (a philosopher named Nuri Bilgin) left their home in Strasbourg, France, to move to Ankara in Turkey. She grew up without her father, instead being raised by her mother and grandmother, two female role models whom she described as ‘strong women’, and who bestowed upon her firm ideals regarding feminism and activism, key ideas which she shares through her writing.
Insisting on the significance of reading, Shafak spoke about the importance, for all of us, of becoming ‘intellectual nomads’, a term of her own invention. She explained that to become such intellectual nomads, we must read widely across a broad range of genres, with fiction, politics, history and science all being particularly important in enabling us to grow as human beings. She shared with us her personal reason for creating, and promoting, the concept of intellectual nomadism, and for her deep belief in the importance of education. Her mother was in the middle of her studies when she married, but after her divorce, she did not intend to continue. However, Shafak’s grandmother encouraged her daughter to resume her education and, having gone back to university, Shafak’s mother became a philosopher and a diplomat. This shows the incredible knowledge one can attain through a good education, and reminds us why it is a privilege to receive one. It is important to note that Shafak’s grandmother only went to school until the age of around 12, because it was forbidden for a girl to continue school in Turkey after that age. This might perhaps help us to understand not only why Elif Shafak is involved in campaigning for women’s rights, but also why she believes so wholeheartedly in education, having seen the difference it makes. It was very interesting to hear about the rather surprising circumstances leading to Shafak becoming a writer. From an early age, she said, life felt pointless and uninteresting, with books and literature providing her with her only means of escaping from the grim clutches of reality,
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