Wole Soyinka Quotes & Sayings (Page 7)

“When I write plays, I'm already seeing the shapes on stage, of the actors and their interaction, and so on and so forth. I don't think I've ever written one play as an abstract piece, as a literary piece, floating in the air somewhere, to be flushed out later on.”

“The Sudanese government has been playing games with the world, with the Africa Union, in particular, have been playing for time in order to conclude its mission of ethnic cleansing in the Sudan.”

“Books and all forms of writing have always been objects of terror to those who seek to suppress the truth.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“You go to conferences, and your fellow African intellectuals - and even heads of state - they all say: 'Nigeria is a big disappointment. It is the shame of the African continent.'”

“I take friendship very seriously.”

“I ceased using words like optimism and pessimism a long time ago.”

“The novel, for me, was an accident. I really don't consider myself a novelist.”