Conversations with History host Harry Kreisler talked to Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk in 2009. Pamuk reflected on his intellectual journey, including the influence of his parents, writers who shaped his world view, the "huzun" of Istanbul, writing, and recurring themes in his novels.
The one who says I love you
is a mournful minstrel
who has lost his song
I wish love had the tongue to speak
There are a thousand happy larks
in your eyes
And a thousand silent canaries
in my throat
I wish love had the tongue to speak
The one who says I love you
is the sad heart of a night
who searches its moonlight
I wish love had the tongue to speak
A thousand smiling suns are
in your amble
A thousand weepy stars
in my hope
I wish love had the tongue to speak