When I first left Iran at the age of 13, Iran had become such a shining star - it was the point to which all my desires and dreams returned.

Every great work of art ... is a celebration, an act of insubordination against the betrayals, horrors and infidelities of life.

I see people who talk about America, and then undermine it by not paying attention to its soul, to its poetry. I see polarization, reductionism and superficiality.

Once we know of atrocities we cannot remain silent, and knowledge inevitably leads to an urge to protect the innocent.

That, of course, is what great works of imagination do for us: They make us a little restless, destabilize us, question our preconceived notions and formulas.

I no longer believe that we can keep silent. We never really do, mind you. In one way or another we articulate what has happened to us through the kind of people we become.

You need imagination in order to imagine a future that doesn't exist.

It is amazing how, when all possibilities seem to be taken away from you, the minutest opening can become a great freedom.

The negative side of the American Dream comes when people pursue success at any cost, which in turn destroys the vision and the dream.

I eat my heart out alone.

I am suddenly left alone again on the sunny path, with a memory of the rain.

Timeless principles never age, and truth is as young as the day it was spoken into existence.

In all things it is better to hope than to despair.

Sometimes i wish that I was a man so I could tell haters to 'blow me.

I bite my bottom lip, trying not to cry. I never cry in front of them.

I'm a mathematician because I'm too slow to be a writer.

Nothing is worse than active ignorance.

I try to live life so that I can live with myself.

I will lay down my life if it sets us free.

How to stop Messi? You need to bring a shotgun, pam-pam and that's it.

A lot of people can forget about you in Los Angeles.