WIST Quotations

Achebe, Chinua -- A Man of the People, ch. 13 (1966)

Dave — Wed, 14 Sep 2016 00:32:38 +0000

In such a regime, I say, you died a good death if your life had inspired someone to come forward and shoot your murderer in the chest — without asking to be paid.

Chinua Achebe (1930–2013) Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, critic [Albert Chinualumogu Achebe]
A Man of the People, ch. 13 (1966)

Final words of the novel.

Achebe, Chinua -- Anthills of the Savannah (1987)

Dave — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 16:27:43 +0000

While we do our good works let us not forget that the real solution lies in a world in which charity will have become unnecessary.

Chinua Achebe (1930–2013) Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, critic [Albert Chinualumogu Achebe]
Anthills of the Savannah (1987)

Achebe, Chinua -- Things Fall Apart, ch. 1 (1958)

Dave — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 14:10:29 +0000

The sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them.

Chinua Achebe (1930–2013) Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, critic [Albert Chinualumogu Achebe]
Things Fall Apart, ch. 1 (1958)

Achebe, Chinua -- Interview by Jerome Brooks, “The Art of Fiction,” #139, The Paris Review (Winter 1994)

Dave — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 00:25:33 +0000

There is that great proverb — that until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.

Chinua Achebe (1930–2013) Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, critic [Albert Chinualumogu Achebe]
Interview by Jerome Brooks, “The Art of Fiction,” #139, The Paris Review (Winter 1994)

Referring to an African proverb, usually rendered, "Until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter."