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They had always told me that I wrote like a man.

Ama Ata Aidoo

There are powerful forces undermining progress in Africa. But one must never underestimate the power of the people to bring about change.
AMA ATA AIDOO

Chance Force never Powerful Progress Underestimate
Ghana is like a lion without a head
AMA ATA AIDOO

Ghanam Like Head Lion Without
Sometimes a word or an argument will trigger a poem.
AMA ATA AIDOO

Argument Poem Sometimes Trigger Word
Politicians are easy to attack, but frankly, we are all guilty of not meeting the needs of Africa’s young people properly.
AMA ATA AIDOO

Attack Country Easy Guilt Meet People Politician Property Young
After all, if we look closer into ourselves, shall we not admit that the warmth from other people comes so sweet to us when it comes, because, we always carry with us the knowledge of the cold loneliness of death?
AMA ATA AIDOO

Admit Closer Come Death Knowledge Loneliness Ourselves People Warmth
For us Africans, literature must serve a purpose: to expose, embarrass, and fight corruption and authoritarianism.
AMA ATA AIDOO

Authoritarianism Computation Country Embarrass Expise Fight Literature Purpose Serve
Love is fine for singing about and love songs are good to listen to, sometimes even to dance to. But when we need food for our stomachs and clothes for our backs, love is nothing. Ah my lady, the last man any woman should think of marrying is the man she loves.
AMA ATA AIDOO

Back Cloth Dance Food Good Love Man Marry Need Sing Sometimes Stomach
Soyinka’s Death at Dawn, Auden’s Musée des Beaux Arts, Stevie Smith’s Not Waving but Drowning and Wislawa Szymborska’s Some People come to mind immediately. But there are plenty, plenty more that I enjoy.
AMA ATA AIDOO

Art Auden Beaux Country Death Enjoy Immediately Mind People Person Plenty Some
Once an interesting idea or theme occurs to me then I would want to write a poem about it. The rest, frankly, is not difficult.
AMA ATA AIDOO

Difficult Frankly Idea Interset Occur Once Poem Rest Theme Want
Its a sad moment, really, when parents first become a bit frightened of their children.
AMA ATA AIDOO

Become Children Frightened Moment Parent Really Sad
No matter what anybody says, we can’t have it all. Not if you are a woman. Not yet.
AMA ATA AIDOO

All Anyone Matter No Say Woman
the best way to sharpen a knife is not to whet one side of it only. And neither can you solve a riddle by considering only one end of it.
AMA ATA AIDOO

Best Consider Knife Neither One Riddle Sharpen Side Solve Way
At the age of 15, a teacher had asked me what I wanted to do for a career, and without knowing why or even how I replied that I wanted to be a poet.
AMA ATA AIDOO

Age Ask Career Fifteen Poet Reply Teacher Want
Toyin Falola has given us what is truly rare in modern African writing: a seriously funny, racy, irreverent package of memories, and full of the most wonderful pieces of poetry and ordinary information.
AMA ATA AIDOO

Country Full Funny Given Irrevelant Memory Modern Package People Race Seriously Truly
O yes, everyone gets lonely some time or other.
AMA ATA AIDOO

Everyone Lonely Other Some Time
Once in a while I catch myself wondering whether I would have found the courage to write if I had not started to write when I was too young to know what was good for me.
AMA ATA AIDOO

Catch Courage Found Myself Once Start Too While Wonder Write Young

They had always told me that I wrote like a man.

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They had always told me that I wrote like a man.

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