Happy Birthday to Nobel Laureate, Prof.Wole Soyinka from Naija Kreatives Team. In celebrating the foremost
Nigerian Wordsmith@82, we bring you his 13 famous beautifully woven words of wisdom
In the world of literature, I see prizes as more
of a duty to the craft itself, rather than as
something for the individual.
“Books and all forms of writing are
terror to those who wish to suppress
truth.”
“The greatest threat to freedom is the
absence of criticism.”
Art is solace; art is vision, and when I pick up
a literary work, I am a consumer of literature
for its own sake.
I cannot belong to a nation which permits
such barbarities as stoning to death and
amputation – I don’t care what religion it is.
The problem with literature, with writing, is
that it works sometimes in terms of correction
of social ills. Other times, it just does not
suffice.
No writer has a right to make that much
money. Indeed, without diabolical assistance,
no writer can.
I think that feeling that if one believed
absolutely in any cause, then one must have
the confidence, the self-certainty, to go
through with that particular course of action.
A war, with its attendant human suffering,
must, when that evil is unavoidable, be made
to fragment more than buildings: It must
shatter the foundations of thought and re-
create. Only in this way does every individual
share in the cataclysm and understand the
purpose of sacrifice.
Nigeria has had the misfortune – no, the
fortune – of seeing the worst face of
capitalism anywhere in Africa. The masses
have seen it, they are disgusted, and they
want an alternative.
You cannot live a normal existence if you
haven’t taken care of a problem that affects
your life and affects the lives of others, values
that you hold which in fact define your very
existence.
My horizon on humanity is enlarged by reading
the writers of poems, seeing a painting,
listening to some music, some opera, which
has nothing at all to do with a volatile human
condition or struggle or whatever. It enriches
me as a human being.
You are not a complete human being if you
are not educated, schooled or cultured.
In the world of literature, I see prizes as more
of a duty to the craft itself, rather than as
something for the individual.
“Books and all forms of writing are
terror to those who wish to suppress
truth.”
“The greatest threat to freedom is the
absence of criticism.”
Art is solace; art is vision, and when I pick up
a literary work, I am a consumer of literature
for its own sake.
I cannot belong to a nation which permits
such barbarities as stoning to death and
amputation – I don’t care what religion it is.
The problem with literature, with writing, is
that it works sometimes in terms of correction
of social ills. Other times, it just does not
suffice.
No writer has a right to make that much
money. Indeed, without diabolical assistance,
no writer can.
I think that feeling that if one believed
absolutely in any cause, then one must have
the confidence, the self-certainty, to go
through with that particular course of action.
A war, with its attendant human suffering,
must, when that evil is unavoidable, be made
to fragment more than buildings: It must
shatter the foundations of thought and re-
create. Only in this way does every individual
share in the cataclysm and understand the
purpose of sacrifice.
Nigeria has had the misfortune – no, the
fortune – of seeing the worst face of
capitalism anywhere in Africa. The masses
have seen it, they are disgusted, and they
want an alternative.
You cannot live a normal existence if you
haven’t taken care of a problem that affects
your life and affects the lives of others, values
that you hold which in fact define your very
existence.
My horizon on humanity is enlarged by reading
the writers of poems, seeing a painting,
listening to some music, some opera, which
has nothing at all to do with a volatile human
condition or struggle or whatever. It enriches
me as a human being.
You are not a complete human being if you
are not educated, schooled or cultured.
Comments
Post a Comment