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The best writing is not about the writer, the best writing is absolutely not about the writer, it’s about us, it’s about the reader.

Ben Okri

Who knows, maybe this whole planet is an asylum, a penal realm. A place for hard cases.
BEN OKRI

Asylums Cases Planet
To poison a nation, poison its stories. A demoralised nation tells demoralised stories to itself. Beware of the storytellers who are not fully conscious of the importance of their gifts, and who are irresponsible in the application of their art: they
BEN OKRI

Art Poison Stories
The whole of human history is an undiscovered continent deep in our souls. There are dolphins, plants that dream, magic birds inside us. The sky is inside us. The earth is in us.
BEN OKRI

Birds Fish Inside Magic Strange
We are living in enchanted time. With our spirits right.
BEN OKRI

Enchanted Spirit Time
Beware of the stories you read or tell; subtly, at night, beneath the waters of consciousness, they are altering your world.
BEN OKRI

Inspiring Night Water
To sustain your belief through situations that completely undermine it is quite something.
BEN OKRI

Belief Quite Situation Something
We can still astonish the gods in humanity And be the stuff of future legends, If we but dare to be real, And have the courage to see That this is the time to dream The best dream of them all.
BEN OKRI

Dream Inspirational Real
To anyone who is homeless, I say, find a home.
BEN OKRI

Anyone Home Homeless
One of the greatest gifts my father gave me – unintentionally – was witnessing the courage with which he bore adversity.
BEN OKRI

Adversity Father Tranquil
When you stop inventing reality then you see things as they really are.
BEN OKRI

Inventing Reality Stop Thing
Magic becomes art when it has nothing to hide.
BEN OKRI

Art Magic Nothing
The fact of storytelling hints at a fundamental human unease, hints at human imperfection. Where there is perfection there is no story to tell.
BEN OKRI

Facts Hint Perfection
I’m conscious of a series of circles working its way through my life. And at this particular moment I have come round to the beginning of my writing cycle. It begins with poetry. There’s hardly a day that goes past on which I don’t write poetry.
BEN OKRI

Circles Past Writing
I learned that life will go through changes – up and down and up again. It’s what life does.
BEN OKRI

Again Down Up Change
Success will never confuse you of scatter your spirit, but will make you fly higher into the good sunlight. Your life will always surprise you.
BEN OKRI

Good Higher Success Surprise
Stories can conquer fear, you know. They can make the heart bigger.
BEN OKRI

Fear Heart Telling Stories

The best writing is not about the writer, the best writing is absolutely not about the writer, it’s about us, it’s about the reader.

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The best writing is not about the writer, the best writing is absolutely not about the writer, it’s about us, it’s about the reader.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Ben Okri Quotes