Aminatta Forna Quotes
Quotes to Explore
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For the first time I go to La Scala, for each thing, for each rehearsal, my knees were shaking. But the audience was very fine with me.
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I would enjoy having dinner with the poet/playwright Derek Walcott.
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'Saving Grace,' even though fictionally it was set in Oklahoma, we shot it right outside of L.A.
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My sister married an American and took his name, and my brother has shortened Sayrafiezadeh to Sayraf. So now he's Jacob Sayraf, or sometimes Jake Sayraf. He made the change when he was a teenager, prior to the Iranian revolution and the hostage crisis. So I don't think it was motivated by any anti-Iranian sentiment in the United States.
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I think one thing that's important to maintain is a sense of fear, always doubting yourself... a good dose of insecurity helps your work in some ways.
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The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.
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I auditioned for 'The Office,' and I don't know if it was a role I could do, but I liked the character. You do one take, and you're reading with a person who's just sitting in a chair and not really... you're not playing off someone, which is what I like to do. I like to play around and find the moment.
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It's kind of selfish to say that you're only going to fight for a victory that you will live to see.
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I was familiar with 'Addicted' for a long time, even prior to the movie, way before it got the greenlight. And when it finally got the greenlight, I was very happy to be a part of it.
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If you don't vote, you don't count.
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I detest that saying 'Everything happens for a reason'; it's nonsense.
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I wrote poems in my corner of the Brooks Street station. I sent them to two editors who rejected them right off. I read those letters of rejection years later and I agreed with those editors.
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The more desperate you are, the more mistakes you make.
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Self-esteem is made up primarily of two things: feeling lovable and feeling capable.
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My legs are really long and that's cool apparently, but I'm totally klutzy. I mean, I'm like Bambi. I fall all over myself because I can't control my arms and my really long legs.
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Happiness, true happiness, is an inner quality. It is a state of mind. If your mind is at peace, you are happy. If your mind is at peace, but you have nothing else, you can be happy. If you have everything the world can give - pleasure, possessions, power - but lack peace of mind, you can never be happy.
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I don't think any good book is based on factual experience. Bad books are about things the writer already knew before he wrote them.
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I would rather not have contentious interviews. I'd rather do 30 minutes with Charlie Rose, laid back in a La-Z-Boy chair.
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Whenever a Gujarati or Sikh businessman comes to a Republican event, it begins with an appeal to Jesus Christ. While the Democrats are really good at making the outsider feel at home, the Republicans make little or no effort.
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The contracts are structured different than athletes in America, but for me, it was good to move on and go back to playing in the premiere league, which is the best league. It was disappointing, as far as the team goes, but for me, there wasn't much I could do.
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Man's enemies are not demons, but human beings like himself.
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Some critics will write 'Maya Angelou is a natural writer' - which is right after being a natural heart surgeon.
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Don't get me wrong: 'America's Next Top Model' is fantastic. They've done 20 seasons, so they've obviously done something right. But I think what ensures that the winner of 'The Face' will become a working model is the prize - a year-long contract with a cosmetics company is huge.
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A hospital is a good place to set various dilemmas.
