My grand uncle was a traditional priest, and he would always say to me as a kid, 'We stand in our own light,' which essentially for him meant we were entirely responsible for a lot of what happens to us… — Chris Abani Copy Share Image
African narratives in the West, they proliferate. I really don't care anymore. I'm more interested in the stories we tell about ourselves - how, as a writer, I find that African writers have always been the curators of our humanity… — Chris Abani Copy Share Image
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… — Chris Abani Copy Share Image
“He too, it seemed, had come to believe that he could somehow escape history. That it was possible, and even desirable, to live in… — Chris Abani Copy Share Image
My mom taught me to read when I was two or three. When I was five I read and wrote well enough to do… — Chris Abani Copy Share Image
You know, you can steel your heart against any kind of trouble, any kind of horror. But the simple act of kindness from a… — Chris Abani Copy Share Image
Fiction is more dangerous than nonfiction because it can seduce better. I think we all know this, know that deeper truths can be approached… — Chris Abani Copy Share Image
My grand uncle was a traditional priest, and he would always say to me as a kid, 'We stand in our own light,' which… — Chris Abani Copy Share Image
Unlike other books or TV shows or sometimes life, my narrative worlds are stripped of implicit moral centers. There is only what you bring.… — Chris Abani Copy Share Image
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… — Chris Abani Copy Share Image
“Circuses are about entertainment and juggling and animals and all that shit. Sideshows are about freaks, about people and the limits of acceptability. We… — Chris Abani Copy Share Image
