A pen on paper is the ideal way for me. I am not really very comfortable with machines; I never learned to type very well.

That we are surrounded by deep mysteries is known to all but the incurably ignorant.

When the British came to Ibo land, for instance, at the beginning of the 20th century, and defeated the men in pitched battles in different places, and set up their administrations, the men surrendered. And it was the women who led the first revolt.

When Rimbaud became a slave trader, he stopped writing poetry.

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

I'm sure if one turned one's mind back from grandiose faults to what is happening to the average man or woman or child in the rural areas, we will probably find that's where the energy for development is.

Writing has always been a serious business for me. I felt it was a moral obligation. A major concern of the time was the absence of the African voice. Being part of that dialogue meant not only sitting at the table but effectively telling the African story from an African perspective - in full earshot of the world.