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Quote by Teju Cole

“There are towns whose names evoke a real horror in you because you have learned to link those names with atrocities, but, for the generation that follows your, those names will mean nothing; forgetting doesn't take long.”

Quote by Teju Cole

Book:Open City
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Work

Open City

In this introspective novel, the protagonist, a young man of immigrant descent, navigates the diverse and intricate landscape of New York City. The story delves into themes of identity, immigration, and the challenges of fitting into a new society while maintaining cultural heritage. The narrative is characterized by its meditative tone and the exploration of the protagonist's personal and philosophical musings. more

Author

Teju Cole
Teju Cole

Teju Cole, born on June 27, 1975, is a distinguished Nigerian-American writer known for his unique literary style and profound insights into contemporary social issues. His works, which include novels, photography, and essays, explore themes of race, identity, and globalization. Cole's debut novel, 'Every Day Is a Good Day,' won the 2008 National Book Award, and his photography and essays have also received widespread recognition, including the Photography Prize from The New Yorker magazine. more

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“Their message will never be decoded, not only because there is no key to it, but also because people have no patience to listen to it in an age when the accumulation of messages old and new is such that their voices cancel one another out. Today history is no more than a thin thread of the remembered stretching over an ocean of the forgotten, but time moves on, and an epoch of millennia will come which the inextensible memory of the individual will be unable to encompass; whole centuries and millennia will therefore fall away, centuries of painting and music, centuries of discoveries, of battles, of books, and this will be dire, because man will lose the notion of his self, and his history, unfathomable, unencompassable, will shrivel into a few schematic signs destitute of all sense.”

PastHistoryNovelMessagesMythSymbolsCodeForgettingEnigmaSignsCzechDecode
Book:The Joke
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“Another result of the War of 1812 was the loss of part of our history. As historian Bruce Johansen put it, "A century of learning [from Native Americans] was coming to a close. A century and more of forgetting--of calling history into service to rationalize conquest--was beginning." After 1815 American Indians could no longer play what sociologists call the role of conflict partner--an important other who must be taken into account--so Americans forgot that Natives had ever been significant in our history. Even terminology changed: until 1815 the word Americans had generally been used to refer to Native Americans; after 1815 it meant European Americans.”

ForgettingConflict PartnerImportant Other
Book:Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
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