1. How do you begin your projects?

I AMASS NOTES OVER TIME ON CERTAIN SUBJECTS. THEN IF I SEE THAT THE FILE OF NOTES HAS PROPERLY SWELLED, THAT THERE IS, IN FACT, ENOUGH MATERIAL TO GET ME STARTED, I GO ABOUT PURSUING A BOOK.

2. Does your tireless dedication to Iranian issues come from a personal investment, a political investment, or both?

DIFFICULT TO SAY. THE PERSONAL IS HARD TO SEPARATE FROM THE POLITICAL, THOUGH BY POLITICAL "INVESTIMENT" I HOPE YOU DON'T MEAN TO IMPLY THAT I AM RUNNING FOR A POST IN A FUTURE IRAN. I AM NOT. IRAN IS MOSTLY A LENSE THROUGH WHICH I WATCH AND UNDERSTAND THE REST OF THE WORLD. IT'S MY "ORIGINAL SIN," IF SIN WERE TO BE DESCRIBED AS AWARENESS AND ENLIGHTENMENT. IT'S A SENSIBLE POINT OF INTELLECTUAL DEPARTURE INTO OTHER LESSER KNOWN ARENAS. IT'S ALSO A PLACE TO WHICH I CAN ALWAYS RETURN AND FIND MY INTELLECTUAL BEARING.

3. You have written movingly about the plight of women and girls. Do you define your vision in terms of gender?

NOT GENDER, BUT JUSTICE.

4. Would you define yourself as an entrepreneur?

ISN'T EVERY FIRST-GENERATION IMMIGRANT AN "ENTREPRENEUR?"

5. You have written in a range of genres. What challenges do you find in doing so?

ONCE YOU DEFINE THINKING AS THE CORNERSTONE OF WRITING, THEN WRITING ACROSS GENRES SEEMS LESS OF AN ODDITY. ONE'S THOUGHTS SOMETIMES NEED TO TAKE THE FORM OF AN ESSAY, SOMETIMES A POEM. IT'S ABOUT BEING IN AN ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE WORLD AROUND, HAVING A PERSPECTIVE AND HARD-EARNED PERSONAL BELIEFS.

6. What has been your most challenging moment as a writer?

LEARNING TO WRITE ACROSS GENRES IN ORDER TO LAUNCH A NEW BOOK. I HAD NEVER ASPIRED TO WRITE AN OPINION PIECE IN MY LIFE UNTIL MY EDITOR TOLD ME THAT FOR THE SAKE OF THE MARKETING OF MY MEMOIR, I NEEDED TO HAVE A FEW OPEDS IN POPULAR DAILIES. IT WAS AN EVOLUTIONARY MOMENT FOR ME AS A WRITER. BUT IT WAS ALSO DIFFICULT AND PAINFUL. IN THE END, IT WAS AN ESSENTIAL STEP IN MY DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH AS A WRITER.

7. What has been your most satisfying?

EVERY STEP OF THE WRITING PROCESS AND BOOK TOUR, ESPECIALLY WALKING INTO THE HOMES OF MY SUBJECTS FOR THE FIRST TIME, AND LISTENING TO THEM TELL ME THEIR TALES. ENTERING PLACES AND SPACES I WOULD OTHERWISE NEVER GET TO SEE. FOR ONE BOOK PRESENTATION, I ENDED UP ON AN INDIAN RESERVATION IN INDIANA WHERE THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WERE READING MY BOOK. IT REMAINS AMONG ONE OF THE MOST TRAGIC AND REMARKABLE EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE.

8. You are both a private and public person. How do you manage those roles?

THE PRIVATE NEVER SHOWS UP ON "FACEBOOK." I DON'T ALLOW THE PUBLIC SPHERE TO BE TAINTED WITH MY PERSONAL WOES OR TALES, SO THAT I CAN HAVE A STRICT SPACE IN WHICH I AM EXPECTED TO BE AND OPERATE AS A THINKER AND A WRITER.

9. Who are some of your favorite authors?

IT'S AN ENDLESS LINE UP. AT THE MOMENT I AM HAVING A SERIOUS ROMANCE WITH HYPHENATED AMERICAN WRITERS LIKE JUNOT DIAZ AND CHIMAMANDA ADICHIE. BUT I AM NOT A TERRIBLY WIDE READER. I LIVE WITH A PARTICULAR LIST OF BOOKS AND WRITERS, AND I READ THE SAME BOOKS OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

10. Who are some of your favorite thinkers/figures?

DEPENDING ON WHAT I AM THINKING OR READING, OR WHAT PROBLEMS I AM TRYING TO SOLVE, IT CAN CHANGE. BUT I DO MISS CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS GREATLY.

11. You seem equally comfortable in front of the camera and off. What are some of the advantages of both?

I AM NOT INTO CROSSWORD PUZZLES. INSTEAD, I ENGAGE IN THE VERY PLEASANT EXERCISE OF PUBLIC SPEAKING. ENGAGING AN AUDIENCE IS A THRILLING AND CHALLENGING EXERCISE.

12. Most people find it difficult to write about their childhood without sounding sentimental. How do you manage it?

I CONDUCTED INTERVIEWS WITH THE CHARACTERS OF MY OWN MEMOIR. IT EXASPERATED MY EDITOR THAT I WAS CONDUCING INTERVIEWS TO WRITE MY OWN RECOLLECTIONS. BUT IT WAS THE ONLY THING THAT KEPT ME FROM SLIPPING INTO FABRICATION AND SENTIMENTALITY.

13. I think of you as a global figure. Do you see yourself that way, or, like Stephen Dedalus, do you start from the local and move out?

I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF HAVING TWO YOUNG CHILDREN AND A NEW PUPPY. ANY TIME I AM HOME, I AM NOTHING BUT A WIPER OF SPILLED THINGS, AND A WASHER OF DISHES. THIS IS TO SAY THAT I AM NEVER GIVEN A CHANCE TO GET THE PROVERBIAL "BIG HEAD."

BUT THE FEMINIST MANTRA OF PERSONAL IS POLITICAL IS ONE I FIRMLY BELIEVE IN.

14. You have managed to remain independent, outside a regular 9 to 5 job. How has this independence shaped your life?

IN RETROSPECT, THE 9-5 DAILY WORK ENABLED ME TO CULTIVATE MY OWN SENSE OF PURPOSE. I LIKED MY JOB AND COLLEAGUES, BUT I WAS ALWAYS THINKING AND DREAMING OF BEING ALONE AT MY DESK AND WRITING. HALF OF MY MIND WAS ALWAYS BUSY THINKING UP WHAT I WANTED TO WORK ON. THIS WAS AN IMPORTANT EXPERIENCE SO THAT I KNEW FOR SURE WHAT I WANTED TO DO IN LIFE.

15. Many speak of 2016 as "The Year of the Woman." Do you think that's true?

I LOOK FORWARD TO THE DECADE AND THE CENTURY OF THE WOMAN. WOMEN ARE DUE THEIR FAIR SHARE, ESPECIALLY IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THE WORLD WILL BE FAR MORE AT PEACE IF WOMEN GAIN EQUAL STATUS AND THE GENDER APARTHEID ENDS.

16. In giving talks, you are passionate and meticulous, emphasizing the importance of dignity and human rights. Does your work start with these issues?

THESE ISSUES DO CERTAINLY GUIDE ME. I PROBABLY AM DRAWN TO SUBJECTS AND STORIES THAT IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER REFLCT ON THESE IDEAS.

17. You move effortlessly from one country to another. How do you navigate in such a way in environments unknown to you?

IT APPEARS AS EFFORTLESS NOW, TWENTY SOME YEARS LATER. IT TOOK A LONG TIME AND A LOT OF SUFFERING TO BECOME CULTURALLY AMPHIBIOUS. BUT IT ALL BEGINS WITH A GENUINE LOVE FOR AND CURIOSITY ABOUT LANGUAGE AND CULTURE.

18. What projects are you working on now?

I'M WORKING ON A NEW BOOK, AND AM TRYING TO GET MY TWO PREVIOUS ENGLISH BOOKS TRANSLATED AND MADE AVAILABLE AS DOWNLOADABLE E-BOOKS FOR PERSIAN READERS ESPECIALLY INSIDE IRAN. THIS SEPTEMBER, I'LL BE A WOODROW WILSON SCHOLAR IN RESIDENCE IN WASHINGTON, DC, WHICH IS ENORMOUSLY EXCITING.

19. In what activities do you find most happiness?

SPENDING TIME WITH MY KIDS. LISTENING TO GREAT MUSIC. WATCHING GREAT PLAYS.

20. What is the best advice you can give women writers, readers, and activists?

CARVE OUT AN INTELLECTUAL ROOM OF YOUR OWN. A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN GO INTO TO THINK WITH THE LEAST AMOUNT OF INTRUSION FROM THE WORLD WITHOUT.