“Sometimes we say we want an end to hate or racism or sexism. But we all participate in keeping these structures alive. If everyone decided to relinquish the past what would happen to people who feel that there hasn't been proper atonement made to them? And what happens to the person who feels that the constant atonement is their identity?” PeopleIfsWantFeelsPersonsMadeEndsSometimesHappensPastHateAliveIdentityRacismDecidedStructureConstantSexismAtonement Author:Chris Abani
“Much of the image of the amazingness of America comes from the movies into other cultures. And it's much the same thing when you reverse it. Much of Africa is presented through poverty, through drought and war. [But] you're not presenting people, you're not presenting countries, you're not presenting complexity, and so people can't care about an amorphous mass called Africa.” PeopleWarCountryCareAmericaCulturePovertyMassComplexityReversePresentingDroughtOther Cultures Author:Chris Abani
“My search is always to find ways to chronicle, to share and to document stories about people, just everyday people. Stories that offer transformation, that lean into transcendence, but that are never sentimental, that never look away from the darkest things about us.” PeopleWayLooksStoriesShareOffersTransformationEverydayDocumentsSentimentalTranscendenceChronicles Author:Chris Abani
“Since I hold no judgments against my characters, no matter how heinous they might seem, I present them as real people with their own moral centers. We might feel those moral centers are mis-calibrated, but they are there and are the rudders that propel them. This makes reading my work a visceral roller coaster, 'cause the reader must embark on the journey of the protagonist equipped only with his or her own moral center.” PeopleFeelsRealMatterCharacterSeemsMightReadingCausesMoralJourneyReaderJudgmentProtagonistsRoller CoasterCoastersVisceralRudders Author:Chris Abani
“All power within the microcosm of my world was held and wielded by people who look like me. Plus, I think Nigerians all have this sense that they are better than everyone, including white people. So I have the privilege of a certain distance. It may just be that. So in a sense, I can't claim that as any ability that I have, simply a matter of circumstance.” PeopleThinkingWorldLooksMayI CanMatterCertainAbilityWhiteCircumstancesClaimsDistanceIncludingPrivilegeLike MePlusMicrocosm Author:Chris Abani
“I think that those of us who are ordinary disappear easily into the backdrop of life and we take things for granted. We often wake up in our lives and wonder how we got there. But the characters I create, the people I am drawn to, are quite extraordinary (and not always in wholesome ways), and they offer us the chance to understand who we really are and how we became who we are.” PeopleThinkingWayCharacterChanceWonderOur LivesOffersOrdinaryWake UpExtraordinaryDisappearGrantedWho We AreBackdropTaking Things For Granted Author:Chris Abani
“People think that writing is writing, but actually writing is editing. Otherwise, you're just taking notes” PeopleThinkingWritingNotesEditing Author:Chris Abani
