For me, a writer is already being the deuce of his mission, his occupation to society.
WOLE SOYINKAAlfred Nobel regretted that his invention, dynamite, was converted to degrading use, hence his creation of the Nobel Prize, as the humanist counter to the destructive power of his genius.
More Wole Soyinka Quotes
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We all have our individual artistic temperaments as well as partisanships in creative directions. And we have strong opinions on the merits of the products of our occupation.
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A tiger does not proclaim his tigritude, he pounces.
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History teaches us to beware of the excitation of the liberated and the injustices that often accompany their righteous thirst for justice.
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Books and all forms of writing are terror to those who wish to suppress the truth.
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Governance can dig itself into a huge hole and not even know it’s in there.
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Culture is a matrix of infinite possibilities and choices. From within the same culture matrix we can extract arguments and strategies for the degradation and ennoblement of our species, for its enslavement or liberation, for the suppression of its productive potential or its enhancement.
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Religion has really spawned some monsters. It always has, historically. Go all the way back to the Inquisition, you know, the Crusades, the Jehad and so on.
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A human feast is an indifferent morsel to a god.
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I am convinced that Nigeria would have been a more highly developed country without the oil. I wished we’d never smelled the fumes of petroleum.
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The man dies in all those that keep silent.
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Well, some people say I’m pessimistic because I recognize the eternal cycle of evil. All I say is, look at the history of mankind right up to this moment and what do you find?
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The media must be used effectively to reach the masses. You have to find a new language in which to address the people and demonstrate what is possible.
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There is only one home to the life of a river-mussel; there is only one home to the life of a tortoise; there is only one shell to the soul of man: there is only one world to the spirit of our race. If that world leaves its course and smashes on boulders of the great void, whose world will give us shelter?
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Looking at faces of people, one gets the feeling there’s a lot of work to be done.
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The writer is the visionary of his people… He anticipates, he warns.
WOLE SOYINKA