People are worms, and even the God who created them is immensely bored with their antics.
AMA ATA AIDOOPoliticians are easy to attack, but frankly, we are all guilty of not meeting the needs of Africa’s young people properly.
More Ama Ata Aidoo Quotes
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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.
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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.
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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?
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It is understandable why the African artist is utilitarian.
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Things are working out… towards their dazzling conclusions.
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The very old certainly do not go back on lunch remains but they do bite back at old conversational topics.
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Its a sad moment, really, when parents first become a bit frightened of their children.
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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.
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Sometimes a word or an argument will trigger a poem.
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It is a matter of some interest, that the only other volume A Mouth Sweeter Than Salt reminds one of is Ake, by Wole Soyinka. What is it about these Yorubas?
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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.
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O yes, everyone gets lonely some time or other.
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I always wanted to write poetry, even when I was very young.
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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.
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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.
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