Abdullah Ibrahim Quotes
The biggest problem in South Africa is that we have a disrupted timeline. Historically, politically, spiritually, economically, in people's minds, in people's heads.
Quotes to Explore
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I remember when I was growing up. My great wish was to understand who I was and how I fit in the world.
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My first car was an '84 Ford Taurus. It caught on fire from me trying to change the fuel pump, so that wasn't good at all. Dried leaves on the ground while I was trying to change the fuel pump. Don't do that. Do it on concrete.
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Sometimes people fear the truth. They'd rather not speak to you than know what you really think.
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I feel like, for me, different environments are very important to me creatively. I think it's my norm to be on the move.
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Big Business can make laws as easily as it can break them - and with as little impunity.
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If you write genre fiction, you follow the rules, and you have to follow them because readers expect that.
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There had always been black people in and out of our house, and from the outset I had been taught that for them life was defined by struggle and filled with injustice.
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Whenever my body heals and the pain and all the swelling goes away is when I'll be ready.
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Obstacles, of course, are developmentally necessary: they teach kids strategy, patience, critical thinking, resilience and resourcefulness.
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When decorum is repression, the only dignity free men have is to speak out.
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I have this first album that sells more than 100,000 copies in its first week, debuts at number two, goes gold, the single goes platinum, we're doing Madison Square Garden.
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America preaches integration and practices segregation.
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Historical costumes from the 18th and 19th centuries look so complicated, but when you see the patterns, it's very systematic. I've always been impressed by how the patterns economize the fabric.
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You are an athlete when you're onstage. You can't get tired.
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Happiness is a mysterious concept. It seems to work best as futurity: at that point I will be happy, et cetera. I feel like I experience small pieces of joy day to day.
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I thought what would be really just choice for a revamp and a reboot is 'The Greatest American Hero.' I think I'd be just that kind of perfect not prepared for this kind of thing, but thrust into circumstances he's not prepared for... that's another niche of mine. Unpreparedness. Not knowing what to do. I'm good at being that guy.
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The thing you fear most has no power. Your fear of it is what has the power. Facing the truth really will set you free.
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The glorification of sisters, mothers as the selfless Indian women who will do 'agni pariksha' and the one who sees her own betterment only in the betterment of their husbands and fathers, that has to stop. It's very regressive.
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What I found personally to be true was that it's easier to manipulate people rather than technology.
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Half the battle is confidence. There are people who have great figures but have terrible confidence so you are not drawn to them because they seem down all the time.
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I've grown up around people who love photography, and I think from being photographed for so long, I always wanted to understand how it worked, and I've been fortunate enough to be photographed by some really wonderful photographers, and so I learnt a lot from them, and I always ask them questions.
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I know some people might think it odd - unworthy even - for me to have written a cookbook, but I make no apologies. The U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins thought I had demeaned myself by writing poetry for Hallmark Cards, but I am the people's poet so I write for the people.
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The biggest problem in South Africa is that we have a disrupted timeline. Historically, politically, spiritually, economically, in people's minds, in people's heads.
