I was born at six months, and I weighed 900 grams [less than two pounds]. I have a very heroic birth story.

If we're a family and your brother wishes you death, it's not a very happy family.

People usually don't allow you to cut off their tongue.

Writing is very castrating in the moment. Fiction in general, it has no function, nobody asks for it.

Being published in Arabic is a strong and consistent wish I have. I live in the Middle East and want to be in some sort of an unpragmatic dialogue with my neighbors.

Sometimes, when you are in a really constrained situation, it makes you more focused about what you want to say and where you're heading. The most beautiful love poems that were ever written are sonnets, composed in a very constraining form.

The reason I write is that I'm not in dialogue with my emotions; writing puts me in touch with myself.