An artist in my view is always afraid of extremists; he is always afraid of those who claim to have found the ultimate solution to any question. Chinua Achebe More Quotes by Chinua Achebe More Quotes From Chinua Achebe A kinsman in trouble had to be saved, not blamed; anger against a brother was felt in the flesh, not in the bone. Chinua Achebe bones brother flesh My books have done extremely well, I know. But I don't honestly feel much different from when I began to write. I still think we have a long way to go. I suppose my name means more in Nigeria today than it did five years ago. But I feel the job that literature should do in our community has not even started. It's not yet part of the life of the nation. We are still at the beginning. It's a big beginning, because now we are catching the next generation in the schools. When I was their age, I had nothing to read that had any relevance to my own environment. Chinua Achebe jobs mean book It is difficult to express the reality of Ibo society in classical English. Chinua Achebe difficult reality The emperor would prefer the poet to keep away from politics, the emperor's domain, so that he can manage things the way he likes. Chinua Achebe poet likes way What kind of power was it if it would never be used? Chinua Achebe used kind ifs The writer cannot expect to be excused from the task of reeducation and regeneration that must be done. In fact, he should march right in front. Chinua Achebe black tasks done Do you blame a vulture for perching over a carcass? Chinua Achebe vulture blame I don't care about age very much. Chinua Achebe i-dont-care care age He is a fool who treats his brother worse than a stranger. Chinua Achebe thought-provoking fool brother You might as well say that the woman lies on top of the man when they are making the babies. Chinua Achebe baby men lying When a man is at peace with his gods and ancestors, his harvest will be good or bad according to the strength of his arm. Chinua Achebe harvest arms men What is modesty but inverted pride? Chinua Achebe inverted modesty pride I feel that the English language will be able to carry the weight of my African experience. But it will have to be a new English, still in full communion with its ancestral home but altered to suit new African surroundings. Chinua Achebe able weight home Men had taken greater blows: that was what made a man a man. For did they not say that a man is like a funeral ram which must take whatever beating comes to it without opening its mouth; that the silent tremor of pain down its body alone must tell of its suffering? Chinua Achebe pain grieving men One would think he never sucked at his mother’s breast. Chinua Achebe breasts mother thinking The story of this man who had killed a messenger and hanged himself would make interesting reading. One could almost write a whole chapter on him. Perhaps not a whole chapter but a resonable paragraph, at any rate. There was so much else to include, and one must be firm in cutting out details. He had already chosen the title of the book, after much thought: `The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger.' Chinua Achebe reading writing book The writer is often faced with two choices--turn away from the reality of life's intimidating complexity or conquer its mystery by battling with it. The writer who chooses the former soon runs out of energy and produces elegantly tired fiction. Chinua Achebe tired writing running If I write novels in a country in which most citizens are illiterate, who then is my community? Chinua Achebe community writing country A man to whom you do a favor will not understand if you say nothing, make no noise, just walk away. You may cause more trouble by refusing a bribe than by accepting it. Chinua Achebe favors may men Joseph Conrad was a thoroughgoing racist. That this simple truth is glossed over in criticisms of his work is due to the fact that white racism against Africa is such a normal way of thinking that its manifestations go completely unremarked. Chinua Achebe simple white thinking
