The truth is that History, with its imposing capital H, is simply the amalgamation of many quotidian lives lived in very ordinary ways. History is always personal. If you read Holocaust survivor or American slavery survivor narratives, you realize all… — Chris Abani Copy Share Image
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… — 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
