--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The strange thing about Africa is how…" description: "\"The strange thing about Africa is how past, present and future come together in a kind of rough jazz, if you like.\" — Ben Okri" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/ben-okri-3640_africa_the-strange-thing-about-africa-is-how-pa_185843.jpg" --- # The strange thing about Africa is how past, present and… ![“The strange thing about Africa is how past, present and future come together in a kind of rough jazz, if you like.” quote by Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/ben-okri-3640_africa_the-strange-thing-about-africa-is-how-pa_185843.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/ben-okri-3640_africa_the-strange-thing-about-africa-is-how-pa_185843.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/ben-okri-3640_africa_the-strange-thing-about-africa-is-how-pa_185843.jpg) > “The strange thing about Africa is how past, present and future come together in a kind of rough jazz, if you like.” [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Africa blends its history, present life and future into a vibrant, improvisational rhythm. **In simple terms:** Africa feels like a lively, ever‑changing music. Key Takeaway Embrace the dynamic flow of time. Themes culture history creativity identity music Mood reflective inspired Type metaphorical observational When to use this quote - travel writing - social commentary - artistic reflection - personal narrative - urban planning Key Concepts African studies temporal synthesis cultural hybridity Questions to Reflect On - How does this musical metaphor shape your view of Africa? - What aspects of African life resist a jazz‑like description? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex socio‑political realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Africa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/africa/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-present/) [Past present and future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-present-and-future/) [Present and future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-and-future/) [Strange thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-thing/) ## Related quotes > [In the West we cling to the past like limpets. In Haiti the present is the axis of all life. As in Africa, past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/in-the-west-we-cling-to-the-past-like-limpets-in-haiti-the-present-is/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [The darkest thing about Africa has always been our ignorance of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-kimble/the-darkest-thing-about-africa-has-always-been-our-ignorance-of-it/) George C. Kimble > [“Language allows us to represent autobiographical events in the past, present and future; we can imagine events that have not yet happened, that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqui-stedmon/language-allows-us-to-represent-autobiographical-events-in-the-past/) [Jacqui Stedmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqui-stedmon/) > [If Past Present and Future make the moment we call NOW can the word N.O.W. stand for New Omnipresent World?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/if-past-present-and-future-make-the-moment-we-call-now-can-the-word-n/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [INTRODUCTION TO NEWS --- HUMAN RACE IS ALL OVER UNIVERSE! à à à à à à à à à This news/revelation has started a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwani-kumar-ojha/introduction-to-news-human-race-is-all-over-universe-this-news/) [Ashwani Kumar Ojha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwani-kumar-ojha/) > [“We might find it easy to look at some majestic view like a glorious sunset or the grandeur of the mountains and ponder the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-might-find-it-easy-to-look-at-some-majestic-view-like-a-glorious/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you can see the invisible, then you can see the possible and provide the opportunities for trust, commitment and ways of empowering others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wyatt/if-you-can-see-the-invisible-then-you-can-see-the-possible-and/) [Ken Wyatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wyatt/) > [You can tell a person's past, present and future by listening to the words they use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/you-can-tell-a-person-s-past-present-and-future-by-listening-to-the/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [I finally got my past, present and future tenses correct today. 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We are also every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-anthony-gibbs/we-are-all-of-our-past-present-and-future-lives-as-well-as-the/) [Russell Anthony Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-anthony-gibbs/) > [Instead of past, present and future, I'd prefer chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashleigh-brilliant/instead-of-past-present-and-future-i-d-prefer-chocolate-vanilla-and/) [Ashleigh Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashleigh-brilliant/) > [“With best thoughts, words and actions we align our past, present and future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-dallas-jr/with-best-thoughts-words-and-actions-we-align-our-past-present-and/) [John R. Dallas Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-dallas-jr/) > [“The letter said that they were two feet high, and green, and shaped like plumber's friends. Their suction cups were on the ground, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-letter-said-that-they-were-two-feet-high-and-green-and-shaped/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ The most important thing I learned \[...\] was that when a person dies he only appears to die. He is still very much alive… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-extence/the-most-important-thing-i-learned-was-that-when-a-person-dies-he/) [Gavin Extence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-extence/) ## More by Ben Okri > [We never think that our mothers will die. It was like suddenly an abyss opened at my feet - I was standing on nothing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/we-never-think-that-our-mothers-will-die-it-was-like-suddenly-an/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [“In a fractured age, when cynicism is god, here is a possible heresy: we live by stories, we also live in them. One way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/in-a-fractured-age-when-cynicism-is-god-here-is-a-possible-heresy-we/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [The best writing is not about the writer, the best writing is absolutely not about the writer, it's about us, it's about the reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/the-best-writing-is-not-about-the-writer-the-best-writing-is/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Maybe there are only three kinds of stories: those we live, those we tell, and those that help our souls fly upwards to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/maybe-there-are-only-three-kinds-of-stories-those-we-live-those-we/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [The earliest storytellers were magi, seers, bards, griots, shamans. They were, it would seem, old as time, and as terrifying to gaze upon as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/the-earliest-storytellers-were-magi-seers-bards-griots-shamans-they/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [An inner darkness is darker than an outer darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/an-inner-darkness-is-darker-than-an-outer-darkness/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Our time here is magic! It's the only space you have to realize whatever it is that is beautiful, whatever is true, whatever is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/our-time-here-is-magic-it-s-the-only-space-you-have-to-realize/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Fire is one of my temperaments. It is behind all my work... Fire is a chemical presence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/fire-is-one-of-my-temperaments-it-is-behind-all-my-work-fire-is-a/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [I lived rough, by my wits, was homeless, lived on the streets, lived on friends' floors, was happy, was miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/i-lived-rough-by-my-wits-was-homeless-lived-on-the-streets-lived-on/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [If we could be pure dancers in spirit we would never be afraid to love, and we would love with strength and wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/if-we-could-be-pure-dancers-in-spirit-we-would-never-be-afraid-to/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Without stories we would go mad. Life would lose its moorings or lose its orientations. even in silence we are living our stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/without-stories-we-would-go-mad-life-would-lose-its-moorings-or-lose/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Literature doesn't have a country. Shakespeare is an African writer. His Falstaff, for example, is very African in his appetite for life, his largeness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/literature-doesn-t-have-a-country-shakespeare-is-an-african-writer/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [“So long as a canvas is empty its potential is infinite… The empty canvas can become a gateway into the landscape of nightmares or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/so-long-as-a-canvas-is-empty-its-potential-is-infinite-the-empty/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [I went to London because, for me, it was the home of literature. I went there because of Dickens and Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/i-went-to-london-because-for-me-it-was-the-home-of-literature-i-went/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [The road will never swallow you. The river of destiny will always overcome evil. May you understand your fate. Suffering will never destroy you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/the-road-will-never-swallow-you-the-river-of-destiny-will-always/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) [Explore all 124 Ben Okri quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) ## More Africa quotes > [“We ought to know the history of our ancient ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-ought-to-know-the-history-of-our-ancient-ancestors/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Africa, being the major target of colonial plunder, therefore becomes a major source of conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-horne/africa-being-the-major-target-of-colonial-plunder-therefore-becomes-a/) [Gerald Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-horne/) > [I'm in 'Madagascar 2.' I'm Testy the Lion. The franchise moves to Africa, and Bernie Mac is also in the film. I loved working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lister-jr/i-m-in-madagascar-2-i-m-testy-the-lion-the-franchise-moves-to-africa/) [Tom Lister, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lister-jr/) > [South Africa needs a second liberation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mugabe/south-africa-needs-a-second-liberation/) [Robert Mugabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mugabe/) > [There's a place in Botswana where there are 100,000 elephants living in a single population. Think of the amount of space they need. Remember,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-bergin/there-s-a-place-in-botswana-where-there-are-100-000-elephants-living/) [Patrick Bergin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-bergin/) > [If you followed the media you'd think that everybody in Africa was starving to death, and that's not the case; so it's important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/if-you-followed-the-media-you-d-think-that-everybody-in-africa-was/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [Africa for the Africans... at home and abroad!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-garvey/africa-for-the-africans-at-home-and-abroad/) [Marcus Garvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-garvey/) > [In Africa, animals and the natural landscape allow local communities to support themselves, as there is a constant source of money from tourism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lidington/in-africa-animals-and-the-natural-landscape-allow-local-communities/) [David Lidington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lidington/) > [My mom is from Ghana, and my dad is from Detroit, so I would go back and forth to Africa a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-richardson/my-mom-is-from-ghana-and-my-dad-is-from-detroit-so-i-would-go-back/) [Sam Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-richardson/) > [I've never been invited to do an exhibition or do a talk in England, except once, about 10 years ago. I've given talks all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wildsmith/i-ve-never-been-invited-to-do-an-exhibition-or-do-a-talk-in-england/) [Brian Wildsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wildsmith/) > [I represent my country, but I also represent the continent of Africa when I play in Europe. That's why it's important to try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaya-toure/i-represent-my-country-but-i-also-represent-the-continent-of-africa/) [Yaya Toure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yaya-toure/) > [What we need in South Africa is for egos to be suppressed in favour of peace. We need to create a new breed of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hani/what-we-need-in-south-africa-is-for-egos-to-be-suppressed-in-favour/) [Chris Hani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hani/) > [I was learning to track rhinoceroses in Africa and tracked right up on an animal that really I thought was going to kill me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/i-was-learning-to-track-rhinoceroses-in-africa-and-tracked-right-up/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [I am interested in bringing Africa to the foot of the Cross.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhard-bonnke/i-am-interested-in-bringing-africa-to-the-foot-of-the-cross/) [Reinhard Bonnke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhard-bonnke/) > [My mother is a huge fan of my work. I told her about 'Coraline' long before the film was made, and she got the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-selick/my-mother-is-a-huge-fan-of-my-work-i-told-her-about-coraline-long/) [Henry Selick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-selick/) [Browse all 1,665 Africa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/africa/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The strange thing about Africa is how past, present and future come together in a kind of rough jazz, if you like.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ben Okri" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/the-strange-thing-about-africa-is-how-past-present-and-future-come/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Africa" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/the-strange-thing-about-africa-is-how-past-present-and-future-come/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/ben-okri-3640_africa_the-strange-thing-about-africa-is-how-pa_185843.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/ben-okri-3640_africa_the-strange-thing-about-africa-is-how-pa_185843.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/ben-okri-3640_africa_the-strange-thing-about-africa-is-how-pa_185843.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The strange thing about Africa is how past, present and future come together in a kind of rough jazz, if you…” — Ben Okri", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ben Okri", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The strange thing about Africa is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/the-strange-thing-about-africa-is-how-past-present-and-future-come/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/the-strange-thing-about-africa-is-how-past-present-and-future-come/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```