What We Search For In Fiction Is

Empathy Lies At The Heart Of Gatsby, Like So Many Other Great Novels-the Biggest Sin Is To Be Blind To Others Problems And Pains. Not Seeing Them Means Denying Their Existence.

In The Past 30 Years, Officials Of The Iranian Regime And Its Apologists Have Labeled Criticism, Especially With Regard To Women's Rights, As Anti-islamic And Pro-western, Justifying Its Brutalities By Ascribing Them To Islam And Iran's Culture.

Lots Of Times You Can Feel As An Exile In A Country That You Were Born In.

Most Great Works Of The Imagination Were Meant To Make You Feel Like A Stranger In Your Own Home. The Best Fiction Always Forced Us To Question What We Took For Granted. It Questioned Traditions And Expectations When They Seemed To Immutable.

America Was Based On A Poetic Vision. What Will Happen When It Loses Its Poetry?