We used the Western style to express our own themes and stories. But don't forget that our heritage includes The Thousand and One Nights.

Only the poor are handicapped by honor.

I thought they would never select an Eastern writer for the Nobel. I was surprised.

We are passing through a very sensitive time, and on the whole, this country is facing very big problems.

I accepted the interviews and encounters that had to be held with the media, but I would have preferred to work in peace.

An allegory is not meant to be taken literally. There is a great lack of comprehension on the part of some readers.

The calendar has a magic that makes us imagine a memory can be resurrected and revived, but nothing returns.