Intelligence Squared An Evening with Elif Shafak and Peter Frankopan
8 snips
Apr 18, 2025 
Elif Shafak, an award-winning novelist celebrated for her cross-cultural storytelling, joins historian Peter Frankopan, known for his insights on civilizations and the environment. They dive into the evolution of storytelling, emphasizing its interconnectedness across cultures from ancient Mesopotamia to today. Shafak discusses the Yazidi narrative's significance, the struggles of immigrant identities through her character Ziliha, and the healing power of literature. Their conversation also touches on the importance of diverse literary voices and environmental awareness in storytelling.
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Grandmother Inspires Character Narin
- Elif Shafak's character Narin was inspired by her own grandmother, who was a wise oral storyteller despite lacking formal education.
- This personal connection enriched the character and highlighted different paths to wisdom beyond formal schooling.
Oral Culture Preserves Lost Histories
- Oral culture preserves stories marginalized by written history, especially of women and minorities.
- These oral narratives reveal censored histories and collective amnesia that written records often omit.
Embrace Diverse Storytelling Traditions
- Different storytelling traditions vary across cultures; some are cyclical and multi-layered like One Thousand and One Nights.
- Embracing diverse literary forms challenges Eurocentric norms and enriches storytelling.
