--- title: "1 Know American Quotes By Chris Abani" description: "1 Know American quotes by Chris Abani. Plus more from Chris Abani and more Know American sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12b/chris-abani-7393_america_the-truth-is-everything-we-know-about-am_2267799.jpg" --- > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/the-truth-is-everything-we-know-about-america-everything-americans/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12b/chris-abani-7393_america_the-truth-is-everything-we-know-about-am_2267799.jpg) ## More by Chris Abani > [“Story is powerful. Story is fluid and it belongs to nobody.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/story-is-powerful-story-is-fluid-and-it-belongs-to-nobody/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [“as his mother told Grandma Marie, there are no words for some”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/as-his-mother-told-grandma-marie-there-are-no-words-for-some/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/i-think-it-s-an-aggregation-of-all-of-the-small-acts-that-are-really/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [“... it's the agents of our imagination who really shape who we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/it-s-the-agents-of-our-imagination-who-really-shape-who-we-are/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [“He too, it seemed, had come to believe that he could somehow escape history. That it was possible, and even desirable, to live in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/he-too-it-seemed-had-come-to-believe-that-he-could-somehow-escape/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [My mom taught me to read when I was two or three. When I was five I read and wrote well enough to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/my-mom-taught-me-to-read-when-i-was-two-or-three-when-i-was-five-i/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [You know, you can steel your heart against any kind of trouble, any kind of horror. But the simple act of kindness from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/you-know-you-can-steel-your-heart-against-any-kind-of-trouble-any/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/fiction-is-more-dangerous-than-nonfiction-because-it-can-seduce/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [My grand uncle was a traditional priest, and he would always say to me as a kid, 'We stand in our own light,' which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/my-grand-uncle-was-a-traditional-priest-and-he-would-always-say-to-me/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [Unlike other books or TV shows or sometimes life, my narrative worlds are stripped of implicit moral centers. There is only what you bring.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/unlike-other-books-or-tv-shows-or-sometimes-life-my-narrative-worlds/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [Nigerians are everywhere. There's an old joke, particularly about the Ibos, that when you finally land on Mars, you're going to find a Nigerian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/nigerians-are-everywhere-there-s-an-old-joke-particularly-about-the/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [“Circuses are about entertainment and juggling and animals and all that shit. Sideshows are about freaks, about people and the limits of acceptability. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/circuses-are-about-entertainment-and-juggling-and-animals-and-all/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [It takes me forever to actually finish something like a ten-page essay. But, when I do, I usually love what they are. It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/it-takes-me-forever-to-actually-finish-something-like-a-ten-page/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [I had amazing intellectual privilege as a kid. My mom taught me to read when I was two or three. When I was five,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/i-had-amazing-intellectual-privilege-as-a-kid-my-mom-taught-me-to/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [If you want to know about Africa, read our literature - and not just 'Things Fall Apart,' because that would be like saying, 'I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/if-you-want-to-know-about-africa-read-our-literature-and-not-just/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-american/chris-abani/#itemlist", "name": "1 Know American Quotes By Chris Abani", "numberOfItems": 1, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The truth is, everything we know about America, everything Americans come to know about being American, isn't from the news. I live there. 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