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There is something really horrific for any human being who feels he is being consumed by other people.

Wole Soyinka

It’s the place to begin, always — to return to home, literally.
WOLE SOYINKA

Always Begin Home Literally Place Return
I can look violence in the face and either reject or accept it.
WOLE SOYINKA

Accept Can Either Face Reject Took Violence
Governance can dig itself into a huge hole and not even know it’s in there.
WOLE SOYINKA

Dig Even Governance Huge Itself Know There
And gradually they’re beginning to recognize the fact that there’s nothing more secure than a democratic, accountable, and participatory form of government. But it’s sunk in only theoretically, it has not yet sunk in completely in practical terms.
WOLE SOYINKA

Accountable Beginning Democratic Fact Form Gradually More Nothing Participatory Recognize Secure
What I teach is literary criticism and comparative literature and so on and that’s my function, but from time to time it’s possible for me actually to help a writer. I read something and something strikes me then, I feel I can talk to that writer about it.
WOLE SOYINKA

Actually Comparative Criticism Function Literacy Literature Possible Something Strike Talk Teach Time Writer
A human feast is an indifferent morsel to a god.
WOLE SOYINKA

Gfeast God Human Indifference Morsel
Don’t take shadows too seriously. Reality is your only safety. Continue to reject illusion.
WOLE SOYINKA

Continue Illusion Reality Reject Safety Seriously Shadow
I know there are writers who get up every morning and sit by their typewriter or word processor or pad of paper and wait to write. I don’t function that way. I go through a long period of gestation before I’m even ready to write.
WOLE SOYINKA

Every Get Know Morning Paid Paper Processor Typewriter Wait Word Write Writer
Writers are human. I shudder to think how I must sometimes appear to others.
WOLE SOYINKA

Appear Human Other Shudder Sometimes Think Winter
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.
WOLE SOYINKA

Choice Culture Matrix Poosisblity
History teaches us to beware of the excitation of the liberated and the injustices that often accompany their righteous thirst for justice.
WOLE SOYINKA

Accompany Beware Christ Excitation History Injustice Justice Liberate Other Righteous Tech
. . . as far as the regime is concerned, well, the play is sheer terror for them. Because they feel, How dare – how dare anybody lift his or her voice in criticism against us? We have the guns. Their level of paranoia and power-drunkenness is unbelievable.
WOLE SOYINKA

Concern Far Feel Play Regime Sheer Terror Well
For me, a writer is already being the deuce of his mission, his occupation to society.
WOLE SOYINKA

Already Being Deuce Mission Occupation Society Writer
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.
WOLE SOYINKA

Convince Country Develop Highly More Oil People
Intolerance has always been with us, you know. The moment you have ideology, we have intolerance, whether it’s the secular ideology or, you know ideocratic ideology, which always brings with it some kind of intolerance.
WOLE SOYINKA

Always Been Ideology Intolerance Moment Secular Wether
Very conscious of the fact that an effort was being made to destroy my mind, because I was deprived of books, deprived of any means of writing, deprived of human companionship. You never know how much you need it until you’re deprived of it.
WOLE SOYINKA

Being Book Conscious Deprive Destroy Effort Fact Made Mean Mind Very Writing
We live in a materialist world, and materialism appeals so strongly to humanity, no matter where.
WOLE SOYINKA

Appeal Humanity Live Materialist Matter Strongly
I cannot accept the definition of collective good as articulated by a privileged minority in society, especially when that minority is in power.
WOLE SOYINKA

Accept Articulated Collective Definition Good Minority Power Privilege Society Specially
We do not ask the mountain’s aid to crack a walnut.
WOLE SOYINKA

Ask Crack Mountain Not Walnut
My understanding of the creative process is simply that all cultures and all concerns meet at a certain point, the human point in which everything is related to one another. That has been my creative experience.
WOLE SOYINKA

Certain Concern Creative Culture Point Process Simply Understanding
Sadness is twilight’s kiss on earth.
WOLE SOYINKA

Earth Sadness Twilight
It is the human potentials that interest me. I travel and everywhere I go I am amazed at the presence of Nigerians. The intelligence, integrity, productivity, initiative.
WOLE SOYINKA

Amaze Country Everywhere Human Interest People Person Potential Presence Travel
There’s a lot of insincerity about the actions of our legislators; they create distractions – like this anti-gay law you alluded to – and try to mobilise, to exacerbate people’s emotions. Until the legislators started making laws, people minded, generally, their own business.
WOLE SOYINKA

Action Anti Attitude Create Distraction Gay Insincerity Legislator Like Lot Mobilise Try
My father used to tell me stories before I fell asleep. When the children would gather, at a certain point, I had a tendency to make up my own elementary variations on stories I had heard, or to invent totally new ones.
WOLE SOYINKA

Asleep Certain Children Father Fell Gather Point Story Use
Intolerance has become, I think, the reigning ideology of the world today, the intolerance versus intolerance and it’s taken on lethal proportions.
WOLE SOYINKA

Become Ideology Intolerance Reigning Think Today Whole World
You accept whoever you are interacting with, directly, or indirectly.
WOLE SOYINKA

Accept Direct Indirectly Interact Whoever
There is something really horrific for any human being who feels he is being consumed by other people.
WOLE SOYINKA

Consume Feel Horrific Human Being Other People Really Sometimes

There is something really horrific for any human being who feels he is being consumed by other people.

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There is something really horrific for any human being who feels he is being consumed by other people.

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Popular Authors

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