Ben Okri Quotes
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.

Quotes to Explore
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The idea that computers can ever replace teachers and schools reveals a deep lack of understanding about the role leadership plays in student success.
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Perhaps things are not things but words: metaphors, words for other things.
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We don't ask the actor playing James Bond what his sexual preference is. So I don't know what it is, really, with trying to out actors who portray gay characters on television. But it is some sort of fascination in society.
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I'm not an American, but I have this weird connection to America in different ways through my dad living here for five years, my godfather being an American who I'm very close to.
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While teaching, I also worked undercover in the lower courts by saying I was a young law teacher wanting experience in criminal law. The judges were happy to assist me but what I learned was how corrupt the lower courts were. Judges were accepting money right in the courtroom.
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Andy Andrews is the best speaker I have ever seen.
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I'd definitely be up for 'EastEnders.' Just the same as I would if 'Coronation Street' was offered. Either way, it would be like going back to my roots.
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I think that, to be an artist, you have to have a big enough ego to believe that people out in the world want to see what you think is a good idea. And if you don't have that sense of ego, then the minute that idea goes into the world, self-doubt kicks in.
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The better I am at observing moments in life, the better I'll be at showing them in my acting.
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We read Robert Browning's poetry. Here we needed no guidance from the professor: the poems themselves were enough.
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People don't want to go to the dump and have a picnic, they want to go out to a beautiful place and enjoy their day. And so I think our job is to try to take the environment, take what the good Lord has given us, and expand upon it or enhance it, without destroying it.
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A lot of actors and actresses pull from past experiences.
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Spiritual practice should not be confused with grim duty. It is the laughter of the Dalai Lama and the wonder born with every child.
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The first time I walked on a stage I knew that was what I was created to do. I knew that there was a calling and a sense of purpose in my life that gave me fulfillment and a sense of destiny.
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We need to defend absolutely the freedom of speech.
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Yesterday is a cancelled check. Today is cash on the line. Tomorrow is a promissory note.
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I'm not good at accepting help.
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Showbiz can be cruel.
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There is an old maxim that says that two empires that are too large will collapse. The analog in set theory is that two different theories that are too powerful must necessarily contradict each other.
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I wanna lay you down in a bed of roses
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Fame terrifies me. I can say that with honesty. You're terrified that, when people know the real you, they won't like you.
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You dream love like it’s some shitty little motel - you check in and you check out like hell. Well, in case you couldn’t tell I ain’t your old guitar that you leave out in the back of your car that you never play, but you say that you’re gonna play…
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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.