You see, I was told stories, we were all told stories as kids in Nigeria. We had to tell stories that would keep one another interested, and you weren't allowed to tell stories that everybody else knew. You had to…

Quote by Ben Okri

Topics: Ben Okri Quotes

The worst realities of our age are manufactured realities. It is therefore our task, as...

The worst realities of our age are manufactured realities. It is therefore our task, as...

I lived rough, by my wits, was homeless, lived on the streets, lived on friends'...

I lived rough, by my wits, was homeless, lived on the streets, lived on friends'...

Stories can conquer fear, you know. They can make the heart bigger.

Stories can conquer fear, you know. They can make the heart bigger.

Don't despair too much if you see beautiful things destroyed, if you see them perish....

Don't despair too much if you see beautiful things destroyed, if you see them perish....

The magician and the politician have much in common: they both have to draw our...

The magician and the politician have much in common: they both have to draw our...

The acknowledged legislators of the world take the world as given. They dislike mysteries, for...

The acknowledged legislators of the world take the world as given. They dislike mysteries, for...

Politics is the art of the possible; creativity is the art of the impossible.

Politics is the art of the possible; creativity is the art of the impossible.

Our time here is magic! It's the only space you have to realize whatever it...

Our time here is magic! It's the only space you have to realize whatever it...

Reading, like writing, is a creative act. If readers only bring a narrow range of...

Reading, like writing, is a creative act. If readers only bring a narrow range of...

We plan our lives according to a dream that came to us in our childhood,...

We plan our lives according to a dream that came to us in our childhood,...

To poison a nation, poison its stories. A demoralised nation tells demoralised stories to itself....

To poison a nation, poison its stories. A demoralised nation tells demoralised stories to itself....

We have fallen into this very mean description of humanity. Naturalism in fiction is too...

We have fallen into this very mean description of humanity. Naturalism in fiction is too...

The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure,...

The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure,...

I went to London because, for me, it was the home of literature. I went...

I went to London because, for me, it was the home of literature. I went...

The magician and the politician have much in common: they both have to draw our...

The magician and the politician have much in common: they both have to draw our...

The greatest stories are those that resonate our beginnings and intuit our endings, our mysterious...

The greatest stories are those that resonate our beginnings and intuit our endings, our mysterious...

The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure,...

The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure,...

The higher the artist, the fewer the gestures. The fewer the tools, the greater the...

The higher the artist, the fewer the gestures. The fewer the tools, the greater the...

Magic becomes art when it has nothing to hide.

Magic becomes art when it has nothing to hide.

I was going to be a scientist.

I was going to be a scientist.