Wole Soyinka Quotes
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We do not ask the mountain's aid to crack a walnut.
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Society itself is responsible for the degradation.
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The very function of creativity, of the elaboration of the human condition only enlarges the human spirit and, I mean, as a writer I don't want to read political literature all the time. It would be terribly boring and, you know, abrasive, but just reading the insights, you know, partaking of the insights of a writer into phenomena, into society, into human relationships, both on a micro level and on a macro level, is already a function.
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I think Nigerians got it wrong from independence as people became so conscious of the divisions because we wanted so much to satisfy the plurality of interests. I will say, we neglected the importance of real value, human value and the quality of potential in human beings and we contrived phrases like geographical spread, regional quota, etc and allowed mediocrity to reign. I think that is the problem that we are dealing with till today.
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I think most writers would like a quiet space, complete isolation, in which they control their own time. Spaces of creativity in which there's very little interruption.
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My definition of slavery is the deprivation of human volition, any form of relationship between two peoples which is based on the deprivation of volition of one side.
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Writers are human. I shudder to think how I must sometimes appear to others.
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I don't really consider myself a novelist, it just came out purely by accident.
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We live in a materialist world, and materialism appeals so strongly to humanity, no matter where.
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As I grew older and more mature, I've been able to move beyond the immediate response of violence to a projection of the pragmatic, political consequences of that violence. So it's an effort to attain equilibrium.
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What I teach is literary criticism and comparative literature and so on and that's my function, but from time to time it's possible for me actually to help a writer. I read something and something strikes me then, I feel I can talk to that writer about it.
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How do I feel when I am invited to a congregation of scientists? I feel quite at home. When they break into their cultic scientific argot, I know when I'm not wanted and step out for a drink.
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You accept whoever you are interacting with, directly, or indirectly.
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But the ultimate lesson is just sit down and write. That's all.
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We all have our individual artistic temperaments as well as partisanships in creative directions. And we have strong opinions on the merits of the products of our occupation.
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If man cannot, what god dare claim perfection?
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Looking at faces of people, one gets the feeling there's a lot of work to be done.
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Each time I think Ive created time for myself, along comes a throwback to disrupt my private space.
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There's a kind of dynamic quality about theater and that dynamic quality expresses itself in relation to, first of all, the environment in which it's being staged; then the audience, the nature of the audience, the quality of the audience.
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As a global citizen, I sometimes feel like denying my identity.
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Writers who open up horizons for other people are performing a function every bit as important as a consciously politicized writer.
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The youth should come together to challenge the status quo. They must not give up.
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I think the epicentre of terrorism whether you call it cesspit or whatever you want to call it, shift, if you asked me a while ago, I would have said Somalia, Somalia has quietened a bit - and I think the epicentre right now is in Northern Nigeria.
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And I believe that the best learning process of any kind of craft is just to look at the work of others.