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Chris Abani Quotes

My father was educated in Cork, in the University of Cork, in the 50s Picture Quote #1

I truly believe that writing is a continuum - so the different genres and forms are simply stops along the same continuum. Different ideas that need to be expressed sometimes require different forms for the ideas to float better. I don’t write essays as often as I should Picture Quote #1

Men do communicate, often very directly, but women sometimes cannot accept how simple what we have to say is. We seldom play games--we aren’t that sophisticated Picture Quote #1

I read everywhere. It’s like a bodily function. I don’t need quiet. I write and read with the TV on. I follow the TV show while I read. TV doesn’t require a lot of brainpower Picture Quote #1

Nigerians are everywhere. There’s an old joke, particularly about the Ibos, that when you finally land on Mars, you’re going to find a Nigerian there who has a shop that is selling Coca-Cola--who took a speculative trip 20 years ago and has been waiting for everyone else to arrive Picture Quote #1

I think that most writers who are trying to write important and difficult books are in many ways putting their own humanity into question. Sometimes the journey is finding out where you stand in relationship to your own humanity and to the humanity of others Picture Quote #1

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If I don’t get at least one e-mail every ten minutes, I feel unloved. Even junk mail makes me feel seen. Sad, I know. Sigh Picture Quote #1

My search is always to find ways to chronicle, to share and to document stories about people, just everyday people. Stories that offer transformation, that lean into transcendence, but that are never sentimental, that never look away from the darkest things about us Picture Quote #1

I was born in 1966, at the beginning of the Biafran-Nigerian Civil War, and the war ended after three years. And I was growing up in school, and the federal government didn’t want us taught about the history of the war, because they thought it probably would make us generate a new generation of rebels Picture Quote #1

I read mostly Irish, African, Japanese, South American, and African writers. You can count on Scandinavian literature for a certain kind of darkness, a modern mythic style Picture Quote #1

African narratives in the West, they proliferate. I really don’t care anymore. I’m more interested in the stories we tell about ourselves - how, as a writer, I find that African writers have always been the curators of our humanity on this continent Picture Quote #1

We often think that language mirrors the world in which we live, and I find that’s not true. The language actually makes the world in which we live. Language is not - I mean, things don’t have any mutable value by themselves; we ascribe them a value Picture Quote #1

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Sometimes I feel very alone. I am a bit of a nomad. Many people in sort of emerging countries, emerging economies, find themselves displaced. So there is that sense, and so I’m part of a whole, I think, group of displaced people Picture Quote #1

Men do communicate, often very directly, but women sometimes cannot accept how simple what we have to say is Picture Quote #1

I had amazing intellectual privilege as a kid. My mom taught me to read when I was two or three. When I was five, I read and wrote well enough to do my nine-year older brother’s homework in exchange for chocolate or cigarettes. By the time I was 10, I was reading Orwell, Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace,’ and the Koran. I was reading comic books, too Picture Quote #1

It takes me forever to actually finish something like a ten-page essay. But, when I do, I usually love what they are. It’s a complicated relationship Picture Quote #1

Fiction is risky for writers also in that the process of making certain books, of shaping certain narratives, leaves scars and marks on your inner life Picture Quote #1

I love essays, but they’re not always the best way to communicate to a larger audience Picture Quote #1

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What I’ve come to learn is that the world is never saved in grand messianic gestures, but in the simple accumulation of gentle, soft, almost invisible acts of compassion Picture Quote #1

He said to me, it will always be difficult, but if you cry like this every time, you will die of heartbreak. Just know it is enough sometimes to know it is difficult Picture Quote #1

The problem is we’re looking for something that doesn’t exist. We’re looking for authenticity. There is no such thing as authenticity. There is either good art or bad art. Art is never about its content. It’s about its scaffolding Picture Quote #1

Something that had the quality of a dimly lit stage set just before the curtains rise on opening night. There was a rhythm to it, a beckoning, and a bittersweet tear in time Picture Quote #1

That women are mysterious and unknowable is something every young man grows up believing. Men, on the other hand, never think of themselves as mysterious or confusing, and we are often at a loss as to why women want to figure us out Picture Quote #1

Elvis, stop dat! You know it is taboo to whistle at night. You will attract a spirit Picture Quote #1

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Here’s the thing: You rescue us every day in small, quiet ways, so why not in this way? Let us into your mystery, tell us how you would like to be loved, show us how to see you, really see you Picture Quote #1

The privilege of being a writer is that you have this opportunity to slow down and to consider things Picture Quote #1

There was a positive side to not trying at something: you could always pretend that your life would have been different if you had Picture Quote #1

Your anatomy is a mystery that nobody bothers explaining to us. Even when we think we have mastered one woman’s body, every body is different Picture Quote #1

I think a book that is over 400 pages should be split in two. I don’t know that there’s anything that interesting that can go on for 700 pages. I think that is a little bit indulgent Picture Quote #1

Before you speak, my friend, remember, a spiritual man contain his anger. Angry words are like slap in de face Picture Quote #1

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Friendship Quotes

Motivational Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

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Text Quotes

My father was educated in Cork, in the University of Cork, in the 50s (Chris Abani Quotes) I truly believe that writing is a continuum - so the different genres and forms are simply stops along the same continuum. Different ideas that need to be expressed sometimes require different forms for the ideas to float better. I don’t write essays as often as I should (Chris Abani Quotes) Men do communicate, often very directly, but women sometimes cannot accept how simple what we have to say is. We seldom play games--we aren’t that sophisticated (Chris Abani Quotes) I read everywhere. It’s like a bodily function. I don’t need quiet. I write and read with the TV on. I follow the TV show while I read. TV doesn’t require a lot of brainpower (Chris Abani Quotes) Nigerians are everywhere. There’s an old joke, particularly about the Ibos, that when you finally land on Mars, you’re going to find a Nigerian there who has a shop that is selling Coca-Cola--who took a speculative trip 20 years ago and has been waiting for everyone else to arrive (Chris Abani Quotes) I think that most writers who are trying to write important and difficult books are in many ways putting their own humanity into question. Sometimes the journey is finding out where you stand in relationship to your own humanity and to the humanity of others (Chris Abani Quotes) If I don’t get at least one e-mail every ten minutes, I feel unloved. Even junk mail makes me feel seen. Sad, I know. Sigh (Chris Abani Quotes) My search is always to find ways to chronicle, to share and to document stories about people, just everyday people. Stories that offer transformation, that lean into transcendence, but that are never sentimental, that never look away from the darkest things about us (Chris Abani Quotes) I was born in 1966, at the beginning of the Biafran-Nigerian Civil War, and the war ended after three years. And I was growing up in school, and the federal government didn’t want us taught about the history of the war, because they thought it probably would make us generate a new generation of rebels (Chris Abani Quotes) I read mostly Irish, African, Japanese, South American, and African writers. You can count on Scandinavian literature for a certain kind of darkness, a modern mythic style (Chris Abani Quotes) African narratives in the West, they proliferate. I really don’t care anymore. I’m more interested in the stories we tell about ourselves - how, as a writer, I find that African writers have always been the curators of our humanity on this continent (Chris Abani Quotes) We often think that language mirrors the world in which we live, and I find that’s not true. The language actually makes the world in which we live. Language is not - I mean, things don’t have any mutable value by themselves; we ascribe them a value (Chris Abani Quotes) Sometimes I feel very alone. I am a bit of a nomad. Many people in sort of emerging countries, emerging economies, find themselves displaced. So there is that sense, and so I’m part of a whole, I think, group of displaced people (Chris Abani Quotes) Men do communicate, often very directly, but women sometimes cannot accept how simple what we have to say is (Chris Abani Quotes) I had amazing intellectual privilege as a kid. My mom taught me to read when I was two or three. When I was five, I read and wrote well enough to do my nine-year older brother’s homework in exchange for chocolate or cigarettes. By the time I was 10, I was reading Orwell, Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace,’ and the Koran. I was reading comic books, too. (Chris Abani Quotes) It takes me forever to actually finish something like a ten-page essay. But, when I do, I usually love what they are. It’s a complicated relationship. (Chris Abani Quotes) Fiction is risky for writers also in that the process of making certain books, of shaping certain narratives, leaves scars and marks on your inner life. (Chris Abani Quotes) I love essays, but they’re not always the best way to communicate to a larger audience (Chris Abani Quotes) What I’ve come to learn is that the world is never saved in grand messianic gestures, but in the simple accumulation of gentle, soft, almost invisible acts of compassion (Chris Abani Quotes) He said to me, it will always be difficult, but if you cry like this every time, you will die of heartbreak. Just know it is enough sometimes to know it is difficult (Chris Abani Quotes) The problem is we’re looking for something that doesn’t exist. We’re looking for authenticity. There is no such thing as authenticity. There is either good art or bad art. Art is never about its content. It’s about its scaffolding (Chris Abani Quotes) Something that had the quality of a dimly lit stage set just before the curtains rise on opening night. There was a rhythm to it, a beckoning, and a bittersweet tear in time (Chris Abani Quotes) That women are mysterious and unknowable is something every young man grows up believing. Men, on the other hand, never think of themselves as mysterious or confusing, and we are often at a loss as to why women want to figure us out (Chris Abani Quotes) Elvis, stop dat! You know it is taboo to whistle at night. You will attract a spirit (Chris Abani Quotes) Here’s the thing: You rescue us every day in small, quiet ways, so why not in this way? Let us into your mystery, tell us how you would like to be loved, show us how to see you, really see you (Chris Abani Quotes) The privilege of being a writer is that you have this opportunity to slow down and to consider things (Chris Abani Quotes) There was a positive side to not trying at something: you could always pretend that your life would have been different if you had (Chris Abani Quotes) Your anatomy is a mystery that nobody bothers explaining to us. Even when we think we have mastered one woman’s body, every body is different (Chris Abani Quotes) I think a book that is over 400 pages should be split in two. I don’t know that there’s anything that interesting that can go on for 700 pages. I think that is a little bit indulgent (Chris Abani Quotes) Before you speak, my friend, remember, a spiritual man contain his anger. Angry words are like slap in de face (Chris Abani Quotes)

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