There are works of literature whose influence is strong but indirect because it is mediated through the whole of the culture rather than immediately through imitation. Wordsworth is the case that comes to mind.

The idea of writer as sage is pretty much dead today. I would certainly feel very uncomfortable in the role.

To me, a philosopher who says that the distinction between human and nonhuman depends on whether you have a white or a black skin, and a philosopher who says that the distinction between human and nonhuman depends on whether or not you know the difference between a subject and a predicate, are more alike than they are unlike.

We are not by nature cruel.

We must cultivate, all of us, a certain ignorance, a certain blindness, or society will not be tolerable.

I say that I represent this movement because my intellectual allegiances are clearly European, not African.

The end of confession is to tell the truth to and for oneself.