Politicians are easy to attack, but frankly, we are all guilty of not meeting the needs of Africa’s young people properly.
AMA ATA AIDOOSoyinka’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.
More Ama Ata Aidoo Quotes
-
-
For us Africans, literature must serve a purpose: to expose, embarrass, and fight corruption and authoritarianism.
AMA ATA AIDOO -
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 -
Time by itself means nothing, no matter how fast it moves, unless we give it something to carry for us; something we value. Because it is such a precious vehicle, is time.
AMA ATA AIDOO -
Its a sad moment, really, when parents first become a bit frightened of their children.
AMA ATA AIDOO -
I always wanted to write poetry, even when I was very young.
AMA ATA AIDOO -
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 -
Ghana is like a lion without a head
AMA ATA AIDOO -
It is understandable why the African artist is utilitarian.
AMA ATA AIDOO -
Humans, not places, make memories.
AMA ATA AIDOO -
Life is inspirational; sometimes it comes from the most unlikely places.
AMA ATA AIDOO -
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 -
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 -
Things are working out… towards their dazzling conclusions.
AMA ATA AIDOO -
They had always told me that I wrote like a man.
AMA ATA AIDOO -
I’ve written poems about gifts.
AMA ATA AIDOO