Ben Okri quotes - page 2

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)
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. View quote
Ben Okri
The acknowledged legislators of the world take the world as given. They dislike mysteries, for mysteries cannot be coded, or legislated, and wonder cannot be made into law. And so these legislators police the accepted frontiers of things. View quote
Ben Okri
I know that human beings are capable of anything. View quote
Ben Okri
To anyone who is homeless, I say, find a home. View quote
Ben Okri
We have fallen into this very mean description of humanity. Naturalism in fiction is too reductive in its definition of human beings. View quote
Ben Okri
One of the greatest gifts my father gave me - unintentionally - was witnessing the courage with which he bore adversity. View quote
Ben Okri
I went to London because, for me, it was the home of literature. I went there because of Dickens and Shakespeare. View quote
Ben Okri
I was going to be a scientist. View quote
Ben Okri
It is not important for me as a writer that you leave a piece of writing of mine with either an agreement or even a resonance with what I have said. What is important is that you leave with the resonance of what you have felt and what you thought in reaction to that. View quote
Ben Okri
Reading is an act of civilization; it's one of the greatest acts of civilization because it takes the free raw material of the mind and builds castles of possibilities. (Ben Okri)
I learned that life will go through changes - up and down and up again. It's what life does. View quote
Ben Okri
Don't despair too much if you see beautiful things destroyed, if you see them perish. Because the best things are always growing in secret. View quote
Ben Okri
I lived rough, by my wits, was homeless, lived on the streets, lived on friends' floors, was happy, was miserable. View quote
Ben Okri
If you are working in an office, where do you find the time to write a novel? But you can finish a short story in five pages. Furthermore, a short story is a perfect place to learn the craft. View quote
Ben Okri
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. View quote
Ben Okri
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. View quote
Ben Okri