Ben Okri Quotes

Ben Okri
Ben Okri
Nigerian Poet
Born: Mar 15, 1959
Life Me Time World Writing You
Related authors: Emily Dickinson Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Khalil Gibran Maya Angelou Ralph Waldo Emerson Robert Frost Sophocles Walt Whitman
The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering. Ben Okri
Inspirational Love Suffering Overcome Our About Most Greater Authentic Than Endure Transform To Love Capacity Us Create Thing
One of the greatest gifts my father gave me - unintentionally - was witnessing the courage with which he bore adversity. We had a bit of a rollercoaster life with some really challenging financial periods. He was always unshaken, completely tranquil, the same ebullient, laughing, jovial man. Ben Okri
Life Adversity Me Man Courage Financial Father Father's Day Gave Bit Gifts Laughing Bore Some Had He Periods Greatest Always Witnessing Greatest Gifts Same Rollercoaster Tranquil Which Really Challenging
The magician and the politician have much in common: they both have to draw our attention away from what they are really doing. Ben Okri
Politician Our Draw Magician Both Attention Doing Common Much Really Away
When you can imagine you begin to create and when you begin to create you realize that you can create a world that you prefer to live in, rather than a world that you're suffering in. Ben Okri
You Suffering World Live Imagination Rather Begin Than Prefer Realize Create Imagine
I learned that life will go through changes - up and down and up again. It's what life does. Ben Okri
Life Will Down Changes Through Learned Does Go Up Up And Down Again
Our time here is magic! It's the only space you have to realize whatever it is that is beautiful, whatever is true, whatever is great, whatever is potential, whatever is rare, whatever is unique, in. It's the only space. Ben Okri
Inspirational Beautiful Time Great You Space Rare Whatever Our Our Time Magic Only Potential True Realize Unique Here
Politics is the art of the possible; creativity is the art of the impossible. Ben Okri
Politics Art Creativity Impossible Possible
Magic becomes art when it has nothing to hide. Ben Okri
Art Hide Nothing Magic Becomes
Artists and writers have to deal with the element that makes the real real and the dream real while you are dreaming it. That's where stories and poems get their power. Ben Okri
You Power Dream Dreaming Poems Writers Deal Makes Real Get Artists Where Stories While Element
'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' had a formative effect on me. I think it's one of those works that if you encounter it very early you're doubly enchanted by the beauty of the language and the strangeness of the vision. It stays with you. Ben Okri
Me You Vision Language Beauty Think Those Ancient Stays Had Enchanted Encounter Effect Very Formative Doubly Strangeness Works Early
At the heart of 'The Famished Road' is a philosophical conundrum - for me, an essential one: what is reality? Everybody's reality is subjective; it's conditioned by upbringing, ideas, temperament, religion, what's happened to you. Ben Okri
Religion Me You Heart Reality Everybody Philosophical Temperament Road Ideas Conditioned Subjective Upbringing Essential Happened
Some of my reactions are very Nigerian. I still believe that words are things. Ben Okri
Words Believe Some Reactions Still Very Things Nigerian
You cannot come to a Nigerian restaurant without having pepper soup. Ben Okri
You Restaurant Pepper Having Come Without Soup Cannot Nigerian
Reading, like writing, is a creative act. If readers only bring a narrow range of themselves to the book, then they'll only see their narrow range reflected in it. Ben Okri
Creative Book Writing Reading Range See Only Like Readers Narrow Reflected Themselves Then Act Creative Act Bring
Stories can conquer fear, you know. They can make the heart bigger. Ben Okri
You Heart Fear Know Make Stories Bigger Conquer
I was born left-handed, but I was made to use my other hand. When I was writing 'Famished Road,' which was very long, I got repetitive stress syndrome. My right wrist collapsed, so I started using my left hand. The prose I wrote with my left hand came out denser, so later on I had to change it. Ben Okri
Change Writing Stress Made Long Other Syndrome Later Collapsed Out Born Wrist Had Road Prose Wrote Got Came Hand Left Left-Handed Repetitive Very Which Use Using Right Started
The strange thing about Africa is how past, present and future come together in a kind of rough jazz, if you like. Ben Okri
Future You Together Strange Past Jazz Kind About Come Like How Africa Strange Thing Rough Thing Present
The worst time was 1983. Love and life and everything went wrong. I reached absolute rock bottom. I saw the Minotaur at the bottom of the abyss. I learnt of the harshness of the world and its impartiality to human failure. Ben Okri
Life Love Time Failure World Abyss Everything Saw Worst Harshness Impartiality Absolute Bottom Wrong Reached Rock Learnt Human
We have fallen into this very mean description of humanity. Naturalism in fiction is too reductive in its definition of human beings. Ben Okri
Humanity Too Definition Fallen Very Human Fiction Human Beings Mean Naturalism Beings Description
I was going to be a scientist. Ben Okri
Scientist Going
I went to London because, for me, it was the home of literature. I went there because of Dickens and Shakespeare. Ben Okri
Home Me London Shakespeare Because Dickens Literature
The greatest religions convert the world through stories. Ben Okri
World Religions Through Greatest Stories Convert
I know that human beings are capable of anything. Ben Okri
Know Human Human Beings Anything Capable Beings
I am not fighting for success, just to get more beauty out of myself and share it with more people. Ben Okri
Success Myself People Beauty Fighting Out More More People Share Am Get Just
The best writing is not about the writer, the best writing is absolutely not about the writer, it's about us, it's about the reader. Ben Okri
Best Writing About Absolutely Writer Absolutely Not Reader Us
I'm conscious of a series of circles working its way through my life. And at this particular moment I have come round to the beginning of my writing cycle. It begins with poetry. There's hardly a day that goes past on which I don't write poetry. Ben Okri
Life Day Writing My Life Past Beginning Circles Way Poetry Through Write Particular Come Begins Goes Which Working Cycle Moment Series Round Conscious Hardly
Load more quotes

No more Ben Okri quotes

Haven't find the right quote? Try quotes from authors related to Ben Okri.

About
Site pages
Top Quotes
Authors
Today's birthdays
Copyright © Quotesia 2025