I prefer to go on trying all kinds of things, not to be told, This is the way it is done. Chinua Achebe More Quotes by Chinua Achebe More Quotes From Chinua Achebe A boy sent by his father to steal does not go stealthily but breaks the door with his feet. Chinua Achebe doorsboysfather There is nothing to fear from someone who shouts. Chinua Achebe "We have heard stories about white men who make the powerful guns and the strong drinks and took slaves away across the seas, but no one thought the stories were true." [said Obierika]"There is no story that is not true," said Uchendu. "The world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others. We have albinos among us. Do you not think that they came to our clan by mistake, that they have strayed from their way to a land where everybody is like them?" Chinua Achebe powerfulstrongmistake In America there is really very little knowledge of the literature of the rest of the world. Of the literature of Latin America, yes, But that's not all that different in inspiration from that of America, or of Europe. One must go further. You don't even have to go too far in terms of geography - you can start with the Native Americans and listen to their poetry. Chinua Achebe inspirationlatinnative-american A man who lived on the banks of the Niger should not wash his hands with spittle. Chinua Achebe shouldmenhands Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too – If one says no to the other, let his wing break. Chinua Achebe kiteseagleswings Travellers with closed minds can tell us little except about themselves Chinua Achebe closed-mindmindlittles It is not quite true to say that I am not an advocate of writing in African languages. What I think is, one has to think about what is practicable. Chinua Achebe languagewritingthinking Naming is like putting a stamp on something and fixing it. A kind of formaldehyde sort of fixation, but it becomes dead, sitting there forever, frozen. So, I'm not a great one for these modernist, post modernist, post colonial labels. I think they serve certain purpose. You do need some kind of sign post here and there, but it can also become an end in itself. Chinua Achebe here-and-thereforeverthinking Almost nobody dances sober, unless they happen to be insane. H. P. LOVECRAFT, attributed, Telling It Like It Is Dancing is very important nowadays. No girl will look at you if you can't dance. Chinua Achebe girldancingdance I do not think that there need be the conflict between books and videos, that one would drive out the other. It certainly is possible to watch the screen for some things and for others to sit down and read, because the screen is easier to do, to watch is easier than to read because you don't have to contemplate anything. Someone else has done the work of putting it on the video. Chinua Achebe watchesbookthinking But I liked Yeats! That wild Irishman. I really loved his love of language, his flow. His chaotic ideas seemed to me just the right thing for a poet. Passion! He was always on the right side. He may be wrongheaded, but his heart was always on the right side. He wrote beautiful poetry. Chinua Achebe passionheartbeautiful [Would] a sensible man spit out the juicy morsel that good fortune put in his mouth? Chinua Achebe juicymouthsmen I have so many ideas; there are so many things that need to be done, so many possibilities, you know; one is terribly excited, but at the same time, you're almost confused, because you don't know where to begin. Chinua Achebe confuseddoneideas It is as though the ancestors who made language and knew from what bestiality its use rescued them are saying to us: Beware of interfering with its purpose! For when language is seriously interfered with, when it is disjoined from truth, be it from mere incompetence or worse, from malice, horrors can descend again on mankind. Chinua Achebe languagepurposeuse A man's life from birth to death was a series of transition rites which brought him nearer and nearer to his ancestors. Chinua Achebe transitionmenlife What has happened to Africa is very severe. We are talking about the collapse of this and the collapse of that, of good government, of the economy particularly. And this has hit education badly. The news you get from the universities in Nigeria is often appalling. I don't think a lot of it gets out. There is the obsession with cults and all kinds of dreadful things going on and all this is taking its toll and it is not surprising that quality of students and graduates who come out is not good. It will not be surprising if this shows in the quality of work they do. Chinua Achebe governmenttalkingthinking I've had trouble now and again in Nigeria because I have spoken up about the mistreatment of factions in the country because of difference in religion. These are things we should put behind us. Chinua Achebe differencestroublecountry Mr. Brown had thought of nothing but numbers. He should have known that the kingdom of God did not depend on large crowds. Our Lord Himself stressed the importance of fewness. Narrow is the way and few the number. To fill the Lord's holy temple with an idolatrous crowd clamoring for signs was a folly of everlasting consequence. Our Lord used the whip only once in His life - to drive the crowd away from His church. Chinua Achebe stressedshould-havenumbers To me, being an intellectual doesn't mean knowing about intellectual issues it means taking pleasure in them. Chinua Achebe
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