Award-winning author Chris Abani lectures at UNCW
Amanda Smith | Staff Writer
Issue date: 9/17/09 Section: Lifestyles
Abani's own life is as interesting and emotional as the protagonists' lives that fill the pages of his novels. He grew up in Nigeria, where he realized he wanted to be a writer when he was 10. By the age of 16, he had written his first novel, "Masters of the Board," that illustrated a takeover of the government. He was later imprisoned by the Nigerian government because of the book's political nature. Incarcerated and tortured by the Nigerian government two more times during the 1980s, Abani fled the country after his last release to live in London.
While in solitary confinement during one of his periods of incarceration, Abani explained how the stories in his mind helped him survive.
"Sometimes I did not know if I was speaking or hearing my own thoughts. When language is lost, stories are what keep you alive," said Abani.
The point of his purposeful narratives and ethical stories, Abani said, is to bring all the sadness in the world out into the open. Abani's stories often engage readers to look deeper into what they know of human nature and compassion into something much more frightening and true.
"What if compassion, true compassion, requires not the gift to see the world as it is, but the choice to be open to seeing the world as it really is, or as it can be," said Abani.
While in solitary confinement during one of his periods of incarceration, Abani explained how the stories in his mind helped him survive.
"Sometimes I did not know if I was speaking or hearing my own thoughts. When language is lost, stories are what keep you alive," said Abani.
The point of his purposeful narratives and ethical stories, Abani said, is to bring all the sadness in the world out into the open. Abani's stories often engage readers to look deeper into what they know of human nature and compassion into something much more frightening and true.
"What if compassion, true compassion, requires not the gift to see the world as it is, but the choice to be open to seeing the world as it really is, or as it can be," said Abani.
Be the first to comment on this story