“The
fact of storytelling hints at a fundamental human unease, hints at human
imperfection. Where there is perfection there is no story to tell.”
– Ben Okri
Born on this date in 1959, Nigerian
poet and novelist Okri is considered one of the foremost African authors in the
post-modern and post-colonial traditions.
His writing has been ranked favorably with such award-winning writers as
Salman Rushdie and Gabriel García Márquez.
Starting with his 1980 novel Flowers
and Shadows, Okri achieved international acclaim with his lyrical, intense
works about Africa and its people. His best-known novels are the The
Famished Road (awarded the prestigious Booker Prize), Songs of
Enchantment, and Infinite Riches.
That trilogy follows the life of Azaro, a spirit-child narrator, through
the social and political turmoil of an unnamed African nation.
Okri said his writing was influenced
by the oral tradition of his people, and particularly, his mother's
storytelling: "If my mother wanted to make a point, she wouldn't correct
me, she'd tell me a story."
His advice to writers? “I believe in leavening,” he said. “You
can't have words sticking out too much, like promontories. They disturb the
density. You have to flatten them, or raise the surrounding terrain.”
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