Literary Birthday – 27 December – Chris Abani

Happy Birthday, Chris Abani, born 27 December 1966.

Five Quotes

1. What I’ve come to learn is that the world is never saved in grand messianic gestures, but in the simple accumulation of gentle, soft, almost invisible acts of compassion, everyday acts of compassion. In South Africa they have a phrase called ubuntu. Ubuntu comes out of a philosophy that says, the only way for me to be human is for you to reflect my humanity back at me.
2. You know, you can steel your heart against any kind of trouble, any kind of horror. But the simple act of kindness from a complete stranger will unstitch you.
3. Fiction and poetry are my first loves, but the really beautiful lyrical essay can do so much that other forms cannot.
4. In this time of the Internet and nonfiction, to be on an actual bookshelf in an actual bookstore is exciting in itself.
5. Like most writers, I find the Web is a wonderful distraction. Who doesn’t need that last minute research before writing?

Chris Abani is an award-winning Nigerian author and poet. He was a political prisoner during 1985 and 1991 – at times in solitary confinement. He was held on death row for some time after being sentenced to death for treason. His works include Song for Nightand Graceland.

Source for Image

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chris_Abani_(32683010407).jpg

kellywritershouse, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

by Amanda Patterson

Are you interested in more authors’ birthdays? Please click here: Literary Birthday Calendar