Don't take shadows too seriously. Reality is your only safety. Continue to reject illusion.
Wole SoyinkaRead
Books and all forms of writing have always been objects of terror to those who seek to suppress the truth.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Books are powerful tools that can challenge authority and reveal truths, often feared by those in power.
Wole Soyinka's quote highlights the concept that written works, including books, are commonly seen as threats by those who wish to control or suppress information. This fear stems from the ability of literature to disseminate knowledge and provoke thought, which can undermine oppressive regimes and empower individuals seeking the truth.
Themes
BooksTruthWritingFearKnowledgeAuthority
In practice
Example use cases
A speech at a local book fair discussing the importance of free expression.
More from Wole Soyinka
All quotes →Trading and religion have always been aligned together in the history of the world, and especially on the African continent.
Wole SoyinkaRead
A war, with its attendant human suffering, must, when that evil is unavoidable, be made to fragment more than buildings: It must shatter the foundations of thought and re-create. Only in this way does every individual share in the cataclysm and understand the purpose of sacrifice.
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Rwanda, which is one of the younger independent states in Africa, must be regarded as a model of how great human trauma can be transformed to commence true reconstruction of people. Human trauma can lead to stunted growth and mass withdrawal.
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I have a kind of magnetic attraction to situations of violence.
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Art is solace; art is vision, and when I pick up a literary work, I am a consumer of literature for its own sake.
Wole SoyinkaRead
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