“The truth is, everything we know about America, everything Americans come to know about being American, isn't from the news. I live there. We don't go home at the end of the day and think, "Well, I really know who I am now because the Wall Street Journal says that the Stock Exchange closed at this many points." What we know about how to be who we are comes from stories. It comes from the novels, the movies, the fashion magazines. It comes from popular culture.” ThinkingKnowsWellsEndsStoriesHomeAmericaCultureNovelStreetsFashionWallTruth IsNewsWho I AmMagazinesWho We AreThe End Of The DayJournalPopular CultureStock ExchangeWall Street JournalFashion Magazines Author:Chris Abani
“I think a book that is over 400 pages should be split in two. I don't know that there's anything that interesting that can go on for 700 pages. I think that is a little bit indulgent.” ThinkingKnowsShouldLittlesTwoBookBitsInterestingGoes OnLittle BitPagesSplits Author:Chris Abani
“Your anatomy is a mystery that nobody bothers explaining to us. Even when we think we have mastered one woman's body, every body is different.” ThinkingDifferentBodyWomenMysteryBotherExplainingOne WomanAnatomyWomen's Bodies Author:Chris Abani
“I think it's an aggregation of all of the small acts that are really transformative. I think a group of small acts transform the individual. And maybe when the individual transforms, collectively we transform.” ThinkingIndividualGroupsSmall Acts Author:Chris Abani
“That women are mysterious and unknowable is something every young man grows up believing. Men, on the other hand, never think of themselves as mysterious or confusing, and we are often at a loss as to why women want to figure us out.” ThinkingMenWantBelieveHandsYoungGrowsLossGrowing UpFiguresMysteriousYoung ManConfusingWomen Want Author:Chris Abani
“We are hunting the demons that haunt others. We get a smell and off we go. And you know why, Sunil? You know why we are so good at hunting the demons of others? Because we are so good, gifted even, at stalking and evading our own. But all demons hunters think that they are really heroes, and you know what all heroes need?” ThinkingKnowsNeedsHeroSmellDemonHuntingGiftedHuntersStalkingAnd Off Book:The Secret History of Las Vegas: A Novel Source: The Secret History of Las Vegas: A Novel
“I think that most writers who are trying to write important and difficult books are in many ways putting their own humanity into question. Sometimes the journey is finding out where you stand in relationship to your own humanity and to the humanity of others.” ThinkingWayWritingTryingImportantBookSometimesHumanityDifficultJourneyFindingsWhere You Stand Author:Chris Abani
“Fiction is more dangerous than nonfiction because it can seduce better. I think we all know this, know that deeper truths can be approached in fiction than in fact. There are risks for the reader, because after reading certain books you find you have changed irreversibly. There are risks for writers: in China, now, and Ethiopia and other countries right now, writers face real persecution.” ThinkingKnowsBookRealCountryFactsFacesCertainReadingFictionRiskDangerousChangedReaderRight NowChinaDeeperNonfictionOther CountriesPersecutionSeducingEthiopiaYou Have Changed Author:Chris Abani
“I think cities are the primordial forests of our time. We evolve faster as a species in cities. Cities are chaotic, liminal places where the many aspects of human potential, good and/or bad, are most readily magnified.” ThinkingHumansCitiesAspectSpeciesForestsFasterEvolveOur TimeChaoticHuman Potential 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
