Elif Shafak CANCELLED

PLEASE NOTE: THIS EVENT CANCELLED.
“If there is a thief in a novel,” said Elif Shafak recently, “it doesn’t make the novelist a thief.” Nevertheless, the Turkish novelist faced three years in prison for the purported crime of “insulting Turkishness” by having an Armenian character in her novel The Bastard of Istanbul refer to Turks as “butchers.” What’s more, Shafak was forced to watch her televised trial from the hospital bed where she had just given birth to her first child. Though she was acquitted, the case shed light on the culture clash within Turkish society. Shafak herself pointed to “those who want an open and democratic society” on one side, and, on the other, “those who speak the language of fear … [who are] so aggressive that they manage to manipulate the political agenda and give the country a black eye.” Sound familiar? 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis; 612-630-6174; www.friendsofmpl.org